


The Rejects Club

by chaotic_goodish



Category: Pentatonix
Genre: Alternate Universe - School, Bromance, Friendship, Gen, Jeremy Michael Lewis - Freeform, Kid Fic, Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-08-28
Updated: 2017-02-28
Packaged: 2018-08-11 13:33:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 51
Words: 171,636
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7894543
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chaotic_goodish/pseuds/chaotic_goodish
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Five kids - definitely not destined for greatness.<br/>One teacher - out to single-handedly prove that theory wrong.</p>
<p>For Avi, Kirstie, Mitch, Kevin and Scott, life is far from a walk in the park. Their futures have already been laid out for them, whether they are happy or not. Their existence has always been a one filled with doubt, worry, and criticism.</p>
<p>That is until young teacher Jeremy Lewis enters to break that cycle, because he knows that no child is destined for failure. Children will live up to whatever you believe in them.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

_Clearly then, the city is not a concrete jungle, but a human zoo. - Desmond Morris, The Human Zoo_

**Thursday 18th September**

This city is like a living creature. It's always growing, outward and upward. The people who live here are survivors - they have to be - but some have to go even farther than others. It was six am when the city first began to rise. The name of this city is not important, by all means it shall remain nameless. Let's just say you know this city, or at least are familiar with it. Maybe you have visited before, or are going to one day soon. The city is neither sprawling or dense, not old or new. It simply is what it is. It is present. The city is a vast, intricate labyrinth of noisy streets and graffiti covered alley ways.

By day the shoppers swarmed the boutiques with slogans stencilled to the glass fronts in fashionable off-white. They strutted from up-market cars to flash their credit cards in exchange for designer goods costing many times more than the price anywhere else. The homeless still wandered the street, often in noisy exchanges with themselves or another down-and-out. In the coolness of the autumn daylight they were regarded as of no more importance than the cracked sidewalk or the chipped lamp-posts. Indeed the shoppers wished they were not there at all and clutched their handbags all the tighter.

In the high rise ghettos, night did not bring the elite calling with their SUV's, or students looking for a cheap way to party the night away. No, those streets belonged to the pimps and the drug dealers. Even the cops stayed away unless there was a complaint from a tax-payer and even then they came slowly. So it was under the sallow lamp-light that most money exchanged hands; money from stolen goods turning into smuggled narcotics.

It was this day, in this city, that our story begins.

In a huge mansion on the outskirts of the city, where only the elite could afford to set up home, a boy stood in front of his bathroom mirror. The boy in question was in fact almost a man. He had been trying to grow out what little facial hair he had in order to seem tougher. Fat lot of good that ever did when he couldn't even find the courage to act like a normal kid. Having a beard hardly helped fend off bullies when he couldn't even open his mouth to tell them to leave him alone.

His big green eyes gazed at his reflection in the mirror, as he studiously adjusted his school attire until it was just right. A white shirt, a jumper of either black or navy in colour, and a pair of dark pants were all he was ever allowed to wear. He hated it, but it wasn't up to him. Nothing in his life was ever up to him, not even his hair, which was to be kept just above shoulder length and neatly combed at all times.

At least the clothes had one positive, he thought as he pulled down the rolled up sleeve in order to cover up the dark purple bruise forming on his forearm. There were more, of course, but in places that were more easily kept hidden. His father just got a bit more carried away last night. His meeting with his new clients can't have gone very well, the boy thought.

He made his way down the grand staircase, making sure to be as silent as was possible - under no circumstances should his father be woken this early - and padded into the humungous granite and marble topped kitchen. The whole point of the room was merely to intimidate or impress any visitors, as there was actually hardly any food stored there. Mostly they ate out at the most expensive, pretentious restaurant that was available much to the boy's chagrin. There was however always a small packed lunch left in the fridge for him by the elusive housekeeper, by order of his father. It comprised of a bottle of orange juice, a sandwich on wholemeal bread, an apple and a snack bar. All very boring, tasteless stuff.

The boy put the food into his backpack that had cost somewhere around the four hundred dollar mark, one that was meant to be a "gift" at Christmas, but all it had ever done for him was attract more tormentors at school. At half seven he made his way outside to the black jag that was parked up outside. Wordlessly he entered and was met with the same "Good morning Sir," that he got every day. He only nodded reply. If it came across rude it didn't matter, he wasn't expected to do anything else.

The journey to the inner city school was as smooth and swift as always, and he stepped out of his ride quietly and walked up to the iron gates. There was hardly anyone else about apart from a few lone kids kicking a soccer ball around in the yard. Most of the other kids arrived just before the bell or were late. He was still cautious though, the quietness didn't necessarily mean the bullies weren't around yet. They always seemed to find a way to corner him just when he thought he was safe.

Just like every other day, seventeen year old Avi Kaplan had to build up every ounce of courage to walk through the gates of Ridgeway High at 7:50.

In a moderate townhouse, in an affluent but still working neighbourhood, a bundle of energy came hurtling down the stairs. He was quite a big lad and his heavy footsteps shook the various ornaments as he ran passed.

It was seven o'clock but he already felt like he had enough energy to run ten marathons, and he probably would if he didn't have to eat breakfast first. His grandfather was already sat at the table, a steaming mug of coffee in one hand, and the paper in the other. He always bought a business paper to make himself look more important on the subway to work, but his grandson knew he only ever read the sports sections.

"Good morning!" He chirped happily to both grandparents as his grandmother set a plate of waffles down in front of him.

"Oh boy, oh boy, oh boy!" He exclaimed, "my favourite!"

His grandmother patted his head fondly, "only the best for my growing boy."

"You spoil him too much," his grandfather said gruffly, but there was a twinkle in his eyes.

Despite the delicious food before him, the young boy still had a great deal of trouble focusing on eating his food. There were just so many distractions for him; the mailman outside the window, the photos in his grandfather's paper, their goldfish "Tiny" who was swimming around in his bowl on the counter. More than once his grandparents had to remind him to carry on eating, but even then it took at least twenty minutes before he was done.

They'd taken their grandson in when he was four, after his parents found they could no longer cope with him. Both their jobs involved a lot of travelling and having a hyperactive kid with them was to put it mildly, fucking stressful. They promised they would be back to visit. That it was only a temporary arrangement. Well, it had been exactly six years, two months and fourteen days since they had dropped him off and he had not seen or heard from them since.

He never complained though; his grandparents had given him everything. They loved him like he was their own son and sometimes it felt as though he was. His grandparents were fairly young still, only in their late fifties, and when he was out with his grandfather, it was not rare for them to be mistaken for father and son. Obviously not just because of their dark skin colour, but the two of them had that same glisten in their eyes, the same gap in their teeth when they smiled, and the same infectious, hearty laugh.

The youngster had never been officially diagnosed with ADD; it was his grandfather's belief that labelling him would have no positive outcomes and insisted that the boy would be fine without any help from medication. His grandfather was kind of old-fashioned in that way.

The morning rush was always a hectic time in their household. Their grandson needed to constantly be reminded what he actually needed to do, and they spent most of the time following him around, making sure he'd combed his hair, brushed his teeth, put his clothes on the right way round. Although the school had no strict dress code, the boy's usual outfit consisted of smart black jeans and sneakers, a shirt and a black tie. This might have seemed unusually grown up for a boy of his age and maturity but it was what his grandfather wore to work, and the youngster had always idolised the man. Anyway, he usually styled it out with a snapback to give it a look he liked to call "classy swag"!

Once the couple had double and triple checked the boy to make sure he was ready for the day, they all left the house as a family. His grandfather to go to the subway to catch the train to the police station and his grandmother took him in the car to drop him off at school on the way to her job at the local supermarket. She always made sure he was on time for the registration bell and would wait outside just to make sure he actually went inside and didn't get distracted by a school fight or something. It was usually the same load of jocks picking on a boy who always wore the same clothes from what she could tell. She felt sorry for the teenager, who never seemed to fight back, but she figured that was just school, and they would all get over it eventually.

That day however, the yard was quiet, so she quickly shooed her grandson out of the car, and blew him a kiss. The boy laughed and pretended to catch it and eat it, before running to the school gates.

Just like every other day, eleven year old Kevin Olusola bounded like an excited puppy through the gates of Ridgeway High at 8:00 on the dot.

Not too far from Kevin's three story townhouse, there was another boy who really didn't want to get out of bed. His was a house that was a small two story, squashed in between much two larger townhouses, something that he felt was quite symbolic in his life. He was always going to get pushed around by people bigger than he was, be it literally or metaphorically.

There was no reason to get up. He could see no point in attending school other than being legally obliged to do so. Besides, he wasn't a big fan of how the law worked anyway. His mom wouldn't care if he stayed at home; she probably wouldn't even notice as she would most likely be in her own room or staring blankly at the TV all day. And it wasn't like he needed an education, he already had a job at a local fast food chain, where he worked his ass off every evening after school and most Saturday's. Hey, someone had to be the man of the house if they wanted to keep what little they had left.

They weren't bad off, but they weren't rolling in it either. His mom's sickness pay was never enough and his dad's savings had run out a while ago, so it was put on his young shoulders to make money. He didn't mind the work, even if it could leave him cranky for a few hours after his shift ended, but the people he worked with were nice enough, and his customer service skills had definitely improved since he had first started at the beginning of summer. He was no longer reprimanded for scaring anyone away at least.

Despite being one of the smaller kids in his year, the young boy had managed to create an aura of "if you mess with me, you will regret it" look about him. He didn't really understand it himself, it wasn't something he actively worked on. Sure, he had the sort of punk hairstyle, the piercings and the one illegal tattoo a friend had given him on his last birthday, but other than that he was still just a relatively quiet, slim boy, whose voice was unusually high pitched. Oh yeah, and he was gay.

He sighed into his pillow, figuring that he probably should get out of bed, even if it was just to check his mom was still breathing. It had been this way for three years now. The constant worrying, the incessant tiptoeing around in case she exploded, the daily counting out of the pills, it had all become part of his life ever since his father was deemed guilty of fraud and sent to prison for up to ten years.

Everything had been fine until then. They had been a normal, happy little family in a normal, simple little home, but then one day his dad had come home from the law firm looking even more frazzled than usual. The boy had put it down to a hard case he must be dealing with but the signs of something a lot more serious began to show. There was the arguing that would leave his mom in tears, the phone ringing constantly, the documents labelled "classified" that kept coming through the door, and then eventually, the detectives.

Two million. Two fucking million his dad was convicted of stealing from a company he had worked fifteen hard years for. The boy knew his dad would never do such a thing. He must have been used as a scapegoat for someone higher up. Someone deemed more important to have around than his old man. Yeah, the law sucked ass.

Everything in his morning routine felt like a great effort, even though it was nowhere near as taxing as his work. First he got dressed; tight jeans, black boots, oversized t-shirt and hoodie was the standard. Then the biggest chore of the morning was to do his hair and occasionally his eyebrows. He wasn't vain in any sense of word but he figured he might look as if he was a well put together person on the outside, even if he felt as if he was crumbling on the inside.

Once downstairs, he grabbed a banana to eat on the bus to school and carefully counted out his mom's pills. There were a lot of them. He left them in the same place as always, and could only hope that she wouldn't put them down the sink like he'd caught her doing a few times before. He popped one of the so called "happy pills" into his own mouth. He wasn't prescribed them or anything. It had been a one-off thing a couple of months ago, just before school ended, that had somehow turned into a habit. He rarely felt the affects of them anymore.

The boy went to his mom's room, slowly creaking open the door. It was silent, but he suspected she was awake.

"Bye mom," he called out.

There was no reply. He checked his watch and saw he better get a move on unless he wanted to miss the bus.

"Love you," he whispered, closing the door once more.

He made the bus, barely, and ignored most of the conversation around him. He couldn't be bothered that day to pretend he cared.

Just like every other day, fourteen year old Mitch Grassi trudged morosely through the gates of Ridgeway High at 8:10.

The high rises on the east side of the city were home to one of the most infamous crime family's ever to set foot on the streets. The Syndicate. That morning, one of their youngest members was busy avoiding local dealers as she navigated her family's selection of apartments trying to locate her step-brother, or maybe it was a cousin, or step-cousin. She didn't care enough to keep count of which family members were producing which offspring anymore.

She found the culprit on one of the lower apartments balconies, draped lazily across a sun lounger, flipping his pistol up the air and clumsily catching it. Luis was an idiot of the lowest quality and the girl knew he had only been accepted into the gang because he was family, and her Papa always pulled out the stops for relatives.

Sticking out of his pocket were what she was after. Marlboro Gold. She had bought a pack of fifty earlier in the week and had noticed that morning that one pack was missing. There was no doubt in her mind who was responsible and now her suspicions were proved right.

Her and Luis did not get on. She had made it clear from the very moment they were introduced that she did not like him, and he had done nothing so far to try and change that opinion. He was a lazy, disrespectful, liar and quite frankly the girl struggled to understand why her Papa allowed such a liability to have such a high position. Maybe he was the result of one of his better one night stands.

That and the man had always been more fond of the males in the family. He wasn't sexist as such, he was raised by a single mother in poverty in Mexico. But his biggest downfall was that he was a man. And an old fashioned one at that. And like all men, he underestimated the opposite gender.

That was pretty much the young girl's whole life. Forever trying to prove herself worthy to men who did not deserve it. And some of the stuff she had been made to do, coming from a crime family, still gave her the shivers at night, when no one else was around. Of course she couldn't be shown actually acting weak around other people. That would be like signing her own death warrant.

So she fought and battled her way through life. A constant game of cat and mouse with the cops and rival gangs, never letting anyone in. Never letting anyone get too close. The most important lesson she had ever learned was that the only person you could count on and trust was yourself. That didn't mean she wasn't prepared to get up close and personal when it came to her fists and Luis was about to find that out the hard way.

After her initial attempts of polite "give them back you fucker" went unheard she clenched her hands tight.

"Do you really wanna fight me for it? Or are you too much of a pussy?" she growled at the lazy slob.

The older boy scoffed and gave her the once over. The girl didn't need to be telepathic to know what he was thinking " _a girl? really?_ ". She almost smiled when he cockily stood up, ready to slap her around a bit. This wouldn't be the first time she was going to send the fucker whimpering away with his tail between his legs and it certainly wasn't going to be the last.

Although her journey was delayed slightly due to that particular, lets say 'mishap', it was at least a content young girl who rode the twenty minute bus ride to her school, redoing her dyed blonde hair and make-up on the way to school after it had become slightly messed up in her eagerness for a fight. Worth it, she thought. 

Just like every other day, sixteen year old Kirstie Maldonado strolled confidently, cigarette in hand, through the gates of Ridgeway High at 8:25.

A number of blocks away, on the other side of the inner city, were the West Rises, home to another young child. He however, only had the luxury of one incredibly tiny and cramped apartment to live in. One which he had shared with his mom and two older sisters until last fall, when his eldest sister had ran off with her boyfriend - Chad or Chase or something equally dumb sounding. His middle sister was hardly at home anymore either, having fallen in with the "asshole crowd" as his mom called them, and now she was more interested in drinking and getting high than spending time with her baby brother.

It was the sound of shouting that first awoke the little blond boy. His head poked out from underneath the mound of blankets and a pair of baby blue eyes, still filled with sleep, looked blearily around. It appeared his mom had once again already got up and left without waking him first. She wasn't a bad mother, she loved her son very much, but she just had a million other things going on and making sure her son actually attended school was not one of her priorities. Working a seven till nine shift to try and put food on the table was however.

The little boy leapt up from the mattress that made do as a bed for him and his mom, and hurriedly put on his battered old sneakers. They were at least three years old but he was lucky he hadn't really grown since his dad bought them for him. Sure they were covered in dirt and holes, but they were the last thing his father had given him before he went off to war. He was six when he hugged his dad goodbye at the airport. He was seven when he was told his daddy wouldn't be coming home.

That time was kind of a blur for the youngster, but after the small funeral he knew a few things had definitely happened, or rather stopped happening. His mom had stopped buying as much food, his sisters had stopped playing with him, he no longer got a decent nights sleep and he had pretty much stopped growing. The only thing he had gained was his dad's old dog tag, split in two by the explosion that killed him, but worn at all times around the boy's neck.

At least the youngster didn't need to worry about getting dressed, for he had slept in his clothes from the previous day, just like he had for the four days prior to that. He was at the age though where he wasn't self conscious enough for it to bother him that much what people at school would think about his unchanging outfit. And they were really cool clothes too! His white t-shirt had a load of skeletons doing tricks on skateboards on it and his jean shorts had a silver lightning bolt down the side of them.

His next move was to dash into the equally small kitchen-slash-living room and check to see if there was any food in the fridge. He stood on his tiptoes to reach the handle but alas his efforts reaped no rewards. The fridge was bare. Oh well, he was used to it.

The final step in his morning routine was for him to quickly grab his Jurassic Park backpack and run to the door, opening it into the hallway. They lived in a messy two-roomed apartment on the fourteenth floor of the notoriously crime ridden high rise and, as per usual, the lift was broken meaning the youngster had to waste even more time and energy galloping down the many flights of stairs.

On his way down he passed an assortment of characters on the stairwell. People asleep, people who were obviously on drugs, people who looked like they were in a fight the night before and ones who were still fighting...with their tongues. He paid them little mind, they were just everyday sights for him; and they ignored him too, he was just another street kid.

This street kid however did actually want to go to school. He enjoyed it. In his first two weeks back he'd already made a new friend, and his teacher was super cool. Luckily for him he lived close to the building, only a fifteen minute walk - or five minute sprint - a few blocks away.

Just like every other day, nine year old Scott Hoying charged like a headless chicken through the gates of Ridgeway High at 8:45.


	2. Not The Job He Asked For

_If you aren't in over your head, how do you know how tall you are? - T.S. Eliot_

 

**That same day…**

 

Ridgeway High had opened in 1952 in the centre of the city, to serve the growing amount of child immigrants whose families had fled the war-torn land of Europe, or the poverty stricken slums of Central and South America. The five story block of imposing red brick building itself dated back to the 1820s, when it had originally been built as an asylum, nearly some two-hundred years ago now, but was refurbished in the late 1940s to become the largest - and most in need of a serious grant from the government - school in the city.

 

Twenty-three year old Jeremy Lewis, the support teacher at Ridgeway High, didn’t even look up from his papers when the blond burst through the classroom door just before nine, throwing his bag onto the nearest desk - which happened to be next to Kevin’s - and collapsing into his chair.

 

“Nice of you to join us Mr Hoying,” he said, with no hint of anger in his voice. He at looked him with raised eyebrows, “The day you arrive on time will be the day I can quit teaching.”

 

The youngest boy just rolled his eyes with a small smirk, as he hurriedly unpacked his belongings onto the desk.

 

Kevin chuckled, “You’re gonna die a teacher then Mr L!” he joked, before practically leaping from his own seat to grab the younger boy into a choke hold. All in a good-natured way of course.

 

Scott had already grown used to the other boy’s boisterous behaviour in his nearly three weeks of knowing him, and just ignored the bigger boy until he released his hold. He then leaned back in his chair, with his hand raised in the air, “Sup Kev,” he greeted the hyper boy. Kevin was still too busy laughing to notice the mischievous look on Scott’s face as he went in for the high five. But Jeremy had.

 

 _Oh boy_ , were his first and only thoughts before the two boys hands connected and Scott used all his strength to bring the other to the floor. Therefore in the tiny classroom, a full on wrestling match was launched right there on the carpet.

 

“Fight, fight, fight!” Kirstie began chanting. Mitch just shook his head in disgust and rolled his eyes. He really didn’t like kids that much, especially when they were as annoying as tweedle-dum and tweedle-dee at the front. Avi was unreadable as always.

 

“Both of you stop right this instant!” Jeremy shouted as he dashed over, pulling Kevin off the smaller boy. Both were out of breath and little Scott was red in the face, but it was obvious the whole thing was all in play. _That’s what you get for having two hyperactive boys in the same tiny class._

 

“Just stay in your _own_ seats boys,” he instructed in his most authoritative voice, one that he thought could be quite scary to students, and gave them slight nudges towards their destinations. The two youngsters however merely chucked to themselves, and casually sat back down, completely unfazed.

 

_I’ve been here for only an hour, and already I can feel my hair turning grey. At least I’d only planned for reading this morning._

 

“All right, get out your books. Kevin, I’d like you to try and finish it today, you’ve only got a few chapters left.”

 

The youngster nodded earnestly, “I’ll try my best Mr L.”

 

“I know you will,” Jeremy replied, while sighing internally, it only took a week before Mr Lewis was exchanged for Mr L. He wasn’t a big fan of it but there was no point in arguing with the stubborn kids in front of him, believe him he’d already tried.

 

Kevin’s reading choice was an adventure book meant for older teens but it held no issues for him. There was no actual teaching reason to get the boy to spend two hours reading, as his skills were already nearly that of an adult. Kevin was probably one of the brightest kids at the school, as in he could get results without too much revision, and the only reason he was in the supported learning group was because he would distract the other students trying to learn. Jeremy thought that was kind of dumb. Why put the boy in a room full of kids who were the most likely to be distracted by him?

 

To be fair, Kevin wasn’t that hard to teach; all the work Jeremy ever gave him would eventually be done to the highest of standards. He just needed to practice on his punctuality. It would help if the boy found a true passion, but at the moment he was always interested in a mish-mash of subjects, and that meant his focus would never be in one place.

 

Jeremy watched as the kids all went to collect their current books from the red box in the corner, which was full of various donated books from the other classes. Today though, Mitch remained where he was, slipping a book out of his own bag instead. Ever inquisitive, Jeremy went over to investigate, telling the others to either be quiet or be in detention after school.

 

“What’s that Mitch?” 

 

The boy jumped a little, not expecting to see his teacher standing right next to him. “Umm,” was the only sound he managed to make.

 

Jeremy crouched down next to his desk. Mitch could be a bit aloof at times, and trying to get an actual conversation out of him could be extremely difficult for anyone except Kirstie.

 

“Is this yours?” He pointed towards the book, which had an interesting cover. It kind of looked like the two symbols people used for men’s and women’s bathrooms merged together. The title was what interested the young teacher the most though, ‘The Art of Being Normal’.

 

“Yes, is that okay?” Mitch said, in a tone of voice that implied he was going to read it no matter what the answer was.

 

“Yeah that’s fine. As long of you enjoy it,” he smiled at Mitch. A gesture which was not returned.

 

“Yeah, and then he’s gonna read this.” Kirstie waved her book, ‘Beauty Queens’ in the air. Jeremy had no idea what that book was about, but if the picture of a bikini clad women holding a machine gun on the front was anything to go by, then it was certainly right up Kirstie’s street.

 

Jeremy left the two of them to it, in order to check on Scott. The two teens were certainly a pair, and one that you wouldn’t have thought would match by personality alone.

 

Mitch was mature, quiet and sarcastic by nature, but underneath that attitude there was obviously a young boy who was hiding a lot of hurt. His mom suffered from depression and it was well known that the young boy had to work in order to bring in the money. Apparently every one thought he had been coping; no help had been offered to the kid anyway until another child had seen Mitch slipping some of his mom’s own anti-depressants during a lesson at the end of last year.

 

The pills had been confiscated after much screaming and shouting on both sides, and as a result the school had confiscated Mitch to the supported learning class, where Jeremy was supposed to be able to keep a better eye on him. He had yet to see the boy slipping anything in, but it wasn’t exactly like he followed him everywhere and went searching through his bag.

 

Mitch was intelligent and would get good grades if he actually cared. But the most important thing for the boy seemed to be getting his promotion at work. School would always come second.

 

Kirstie on the other hand was loud, cheeky and prone to cussing. It was well known that she had connections to The Syndicate and that immediately put a red flag by her name. Throughout her whole time at the school she had been getting in fights or having cigarettes and alcohol confiscated off her but never got in too much trouble. Jeremy guessed it was because the school was scared of her.

 

But last year another student, a year older and about two foot taller than the girl, riled Kirstie up the wrong way. By the sounds of it, this bruiser of a guy had started it and little Kirstie had very quickly and violently ended it. The repercussions would have been greater but word was Kirstie had some very powerful connections within The Syndicate who were able to get her off with only a severe warning and, of course, a relocation to Jeremy’s class.

 

Kirstie was another student who Jeremy reckoned would actually get good grades if she tried, but the girl always claimed she didn’t need to be book smart, street smart was the only thing that mattered. Jeremy thought that was a load of nonsense.

 

And then there was Scott. The youngest was working his way through a picture book called Actual Size, a book that was all about the sizes of animals. Scott clearly enjoyed flipping through the pages, but knew he was a bit old for it. What he really wanted to read was a novel called ‘The World According to Humphrey’, the story about a classroom hamster. Unfortunately, he struggled reading through it on his own and often gave up out of frustration without Jeremy there to help him.

 

Jeremy however usually needed to use the reading sessions to help him catch up on other vital paperwork. It would have been great if one of the older kids could help Scott, seeing as he was the only one who actually benefitted from reading sessions, but when he had tried asking Kirstie and Mitch; Mitch had said he would have to be paid before he sat next to the blond for any amount of time, while Kirstie just outright refused. There was no point in asking his other two students, considering Avi had yet to speak a word, and Kevin would only see it as an opportunity to start wrestling.

 

The teacher smiled at the sight of the little blond poking his tongue out in concentration as he tried to read the hamster book. 

 

“How’s it going Scooter?”

 

“Okay…what does this say?” He asked, pointing to a word in his book.

 

“What do you think?”

 

“C-cul-culprit?”

 

“Yep, couldn’t have said it better myself!” Jeremy held out his hand for a high five which put a huge smile on Scott’s face. No wrestling matches were initiated this time, luckily.

 

“But what does culprit mean Mr L?”

 

“It means someone who was responsible for something. Usually something naughty,” he explained, and poked Scott’s head gently, “a bit like you, you little rascal.”

 

“Ha-ha Mr L,” Scott said, in his best sarcastic voice. _Boy seems to be picking up habits from young Mitch._

 

Noticing that the other kids appeared to be concentrating on their own reads, he took the chance to ask the boy a very important question. “Have you got lunch with you today?” He whispered in the young boy’s ear.

 

Scott looked worriedly up at him and gave a small shake of his head. His teacher on the other hand just gave him a reassuring smile, “I wasn’t sure so I picked something up on my way in,” he told him, giving the small shoulder a squeeze. “You can come and collect it from me at lunch break,” he promised, walking away.

 

The little blond gave him what could only be described as the most grateful look in the world, his blue eyes filled with gratitude as he mouthed a “thank you” to the retreating teacher.

 

 _Well if I do just one good deed today…_ the teacher wistfully pondered. Out of all of his students, he probably had the best connection with Scott so far. Then again, it wasn’t as if the little blond made it difficult in building a positive relationship with him, and Jeremy often found himself constantly worrying about the youngster’s well-being.

 

The boy was skinny and small for his age. He suspected that Scott had probably never been to a doctor but could guess it was lack of proper nutrition that was the cause for his current stunted growth. Jeremy had met his father - who was barely in his thirties - once before his final tour of Afghan, randomly at a mutual friend’s party, and the guy was a freaking giant. There was no way the blond was meant to be a small child. He figured that with his current money troubles at home, lunch for the kid was more often than not a necessary skip.

 

He smiled as Kevin - returning from getting a drink - ruffled the youngest’s hair and was rewarded with a cheeky grin. The saddest thing about his situation was that Jeremy could see Scott had so much potential. All the teachers had said he was a bright and friendly young boy, with a huge creative streak; but the countless late nights, limited food, and missed lessons took a toll on the kid. However give him a sandwich, a packet of crisps and a can of Dr Pepper, and the boy could fight Kevin for the title of Most Hyper Child.

 

Seeing as he’d been round to everyone else, Jeremy decided he best go and check on Avi - whose head was buried in his fourth or fifth Game of Thrones book - as well, before he could eventually sit down to do his much needed paperwork.

 

The oldest teen had somehow stealthily slid his desk some distance away from the others, so he was almost backed against the storage cupboard. The boy made no movement or sound as Jeremy walked over to him, his eyes remaining glued to the pages of his book, but the young teacher noticed his body tense slightly, he saw the pale hands gripping around the novel a bit tighter.

 

“Good book Avi?”

 

The boy nodded politely.

 

“So umm…anything you need to tell me?” _Cos that didn’t sound weird as hell Jeremy._

 

The boy just shook his head, without a hint of emotion on his face, but Jeremy could tell the teen was wishing him away.

 

He smiled awkwardly, “Okay then, well…carry on as you are.”

 

Avi gave him a look which could pass for a smile or a grimace, depending on how you looked at it. Jeremy gave him a small nod of farewell, and hastily retreated to his desk. Something about Avi set him on edge. He’d never met a kid like him before. Like Mitch, the main reason Avi was in the supported learning class was for his own safety. Unlike Mitch though, it wasn’t Avi who was in danger or harming himself, it was a group of bullies within the school who had more than once sent the teen to the nurses office.

 

As far as school work went, he was no problem at all, and considering he was the only one out of the little class to have his final exams this year, that was just as well. All Jeremy had to do was unlock the door for the boy in the morning, and keep an eye on him as he left the school grounds at the end of the day. Other than that, he didn’t know what else he could do for the always silent seventeen year old.

 

Casting one last gaze over the students, the young man eventually felt it was safe enough to concentrate on his own work for a bit. He wanted to cry when he observed his desk piled high with log books, school forms, and tax reclaim documents. Yeah, he knew he shouldn’t really be bringing his home life into school, but if he didn’t do it here, then he could wave goodbye to sleep.

 

This wasn’t the job he had applied for. He shouldn’t be here. Not that he was ungrateful for getting a job almost straight out of teaching college, but he knew he was better qualified to do something more than…well, _this._

 

His job was actually something of an enigma. On all official forms he was required to write Support Teacher, but what his actual role consisted of was never really made clear to him. When he’d been called in for an induction day he’d basically been told that his job didn’t really matter. Well, it wasn’t put quite as bluntly as that, but it was implied that all they expected of him was to make sure the kids didn’t kill each other, kill themselves, to try to kill him. As far as teaching went, they didn’t care how well these kids did. It was up to Jeremy to decide and plan out the lessons. The term “supported learning” in this case, could be translated as “just keep them out of the way of the normal kids…learning”.

 

All Jeremy had ever dreamed of doing was teaching, ever since he was a little kid, when everyone else was fantasising of becoming an astronaut, a football player, or a singer, the only thing he was interested in doing was teaching. And by teaching, he imagined something like the teachers at his childhood school; where they had the latest technology, the highest quality of resources available, and small, easily manageable class sizes.

 

So Jeremy could be described as slightly disheartened, when he ended up in a humongous K-12 school, that catered for mainly inner city kids, most of whom would rather be roaming the streets, and was not only placed in the smallest possible classroom on the topmost floor, but was given hardly any tools in which to teach with. _Oh yeah, and the fucking air-con is broken._

 

The young man had to take off his jacket as he felt himself beginning to sweat through his clothes, and considered walking out of the classroom and quitting there and then. He was pretty sure none of the kids would miss him, and the school would soon find another young graduate desperate for a job to fill his place. In fact, there was only on person who was keeping him sat in the small, sweltering hot room right now.

 

His mom.

 

She was his everything. He’d never been one for idols, but if he had to choose, it would be her. Within the first week of his new job the stress was already building up to dangerous levels and Jeremy had rung his mom out of desperation.

 

 _“I can’t do it though mom,”_ he had whined down the phone. _“I’m just not cut out for this. I want to help them…but I’m just not the right guy.”_

 

He had expected support from her side; reaffirmation that he should just quit while he was ahead. Instead what he received was the exact opposite. The last thing his mom had said to him before she hung up?

 

“ _If you don’t, then who will?”_


	3. The Romans Loved Sex

_There is nothing in the world so irresistibly contagious as laughter and good humour. - Charles Dickens, A Christmas Carol_

 

**Tuesday 23rd September**

 

Mitch was fucking bored.

 

Correction, Mitch was extremely fucking bored. The class was in the midst of a history lesson - Roman history of all things, for the benefit of Avi and his exams - and Mitch could name at least two billion things he’d rather be spending his time doing.

 

He idly scanned through the pages of the massive tomb of a book he had before him, not really bothered about answering the questions Mr L had given them. There was no point in him doing this, since there was no chance in hell that he was ever going to need the knowledge of Roman parliaments in his future life.

 

His mind drifted back to the night before and he unwittingly shivered at the memory, despite the heat in the room. He had arrived home from work at the usual time of eight o’clock and had expected to find his mom in her usual spot on the sofa, watching some crappy show on MTV.

 

Instead, what he had discovered upon walking through the front door was his mom standing over the kitchen sink, surrounded by bandages and tissues that were stained red. Red with her own blood.

 

 _“What the hell mom?”_ Mitch had yelled, storming over to the stunned looking woman. He grabbed her arms and aggressively turned them over to reveal a number of thin red marks. They were by no means life-threatening but that wasn’t what was important. The point was that his mom had been hurting herself.

 

 _“Why?”_ Why was the question he had repeated the whole night, like an annoying parrot, and yet still all he got from his mom was the usual, _“I’m sorry,”_ or _“I can’t do this.” Yeah well that makes the two of us mom._

 

By the time he had cleaned and wrapped up her arms, made sure she took her medication, made dinner for the both of them, tidied the house and sat with the woman until she went to sleep, it was nearly two o’clock. Even then he couldn’t bring himself to go to sleep himself, not after what he’d witnessed earlier.

 

Sometimes Mitch just wanted to give up. Wanted to just curl up in a ball and cry every day for the rest of his life just like his mom. But there was that part of him that was his father’s son, and his dad had always worked hard every single day of his life. Even though it was killing him to carry on going, Mitch knew he had to. He had to be there for his mom despite her never being there for him. Call him cold, creepy, queer, he didn’t care. But no one could ever say he was a bad son.

 

Kirstie seemed to have sensed his darker mood that morning. Despite having only known her for a just under a year, Mitch looked to her as one of or only closest friend, someone he could talk to. She was something of a kindred spirit and they both spent most of their time together during lunch break.

 

There had even been a time last Friday when a group of jocks had walked by uttering words like “fag” and “queer”, leading Kirstie to shout over to them, _“you’re just jealous cos he gets more action here than your whore of a girlfriend ever gives you!”_ , before proceeding to pin Mitch up against the lockers and give him the roughest kiss he’d ever had in his life.

 

The group of meat heads had been so shocked - or possibly disgusted - with the sudden make-out scene before them, that they simply turned tail and marched off quickly as possible. Mitch had thanked Kirstie but asked her not to make a habit of sticking her tongue down his throat whenever she felt like it. The older girl had slapped him afterwords, and told him to be grateful. Yeah, it was safe to say he liked her.

 

As if on cue, the girl in question began snickering quietly beside him. Mitch peered over to see what had lifted the girl’s spirit so high and saw that she had flicked on even further than him, to a section on Roman pastimes. Apparently they enjoyed having sex…and sculpting statues to show how much they loved having sex. _Jeez, this is a bit graphic for a school book. Does Mr L even know this is in here?_ Mitch wondered as he discreetly flipped to the same set of pages.

 

“Oh wow, you’re a big boy aren’t you?” he whispered, and Kirstie had to immediately clamp her hand over her mouth to prevent herself from bursting out laughing.

 

Mitch bit down on his tongue to stop himself also and the two continued with their immature behaviour for at least ten minutes, only managing to keep noise to a minimum by sheer force of will. Everything was going fine until Kirstie was dumb enough to say one sentence a bit louder than was safe. Mr L didn’t appear to notice, but two young boys who happened to be sitting behind them did.

 

Kevin titled his head in confusion, “What’s a threesome?” he asked the others.

 

Kirstie at least had the decency to blush, as Mitch just covered his face with his hand. _I did not sign up for explaining that,_ he thought. Scott, on the other hand, was losing his mind. He may have been two years younger than Kevin, but there were certain things, such as drugs, violence and sex that he had been exposed to at a much younger age, probably similar to Kirstie. Those high rise kids were always aware of a lot more compared to other kids their age, Mitch considered; it’s what came with living in such close density to all types of people.

 

Through his tears of laughter, Scott leaned over to Kevin, “It’s when three people _do it,_ instead of two.”

 

This only confused the older boy even further, “Do what?” he asked with a frown.

 

Scot lifted his hands to try and demonstrate the best he could, but was stopped before he could even start when a flying rubber hit him in the cheek. He looked up to see Kirstie turned around in her seat, sending death glares his way, and retorted the only way nine year old boys know how. 

 

“Shut the fuck up, you rat,” Kirstie hissed at the blond, who was sticking his tongue out at her.

 

“Kirstie! I don’t want to hear that language,” their oblivious teacher exclaimed, after he finally heard their little whisperings. _She’s lucky he only heard her cuss,_ Mitch mused.

 

“Fudge, Mr L. She said fudge,” Mitch added, with a small smirk of his own. He was enjoying this conversation a lot more than the text book.

 

Mr L narrowed his eyes at them, “ _Enough_ you two.” They could see he meant it, so thought it was in their best interests if they were quiet, for the time being at least.

 

“What a load of stick,” Scott muttered from behind, just loud enough for the two in front to hear.

 

Kirstie and Mitch shared a look, which was a mistake, as they then had to spend the next ten minutes trying to not crack up with laugher. Over the past few days, they had both began to have a slight change of heart when it came to the youngest boy. Sure, he was still a fucking annoying little runt the majority of the time, but he could also be a great source of entertainment.

 

Scott also spent the rest of the lesson smiling to himself, happy he’d been able to make the older kids laugh. He didn’t like seeing anyone grumpy or bored, and he’d noticed Mitch looked particularly moody that day. Making the older boy smile felt good.

 

As for a certain Mr Jeremy Lewis, he didn’t miss anything. But he’d figured some things were just better left how they were. In spite of Mitch’s efforts to appear cool and collected, it had been obvious to the whole room that not everything was well in his life. Now, he didn’t want to ignore Scott’s comment, but he would much rather have a Mitch who was laughing at Scott, than a Mitch who looked like the whole world was against him.

 

Jeremy was yet to actually have a proper conversation with the boy. Anytime he did try and talk to him he was met only with sarcastic comments and “fuck off” looks.

 

The biggest revelation had been when he’d been given some questionnaires that the school wanted the kids to fill out. The final two questions was where did they see themselves in ten years time and what did they want to get out of these lessons.

 

Kevin had stated that he wanted to be a galaxy trader, or if space travel wasn’t ready yet he’d settle for President of the World. The boy seemed to live in his own world but Jeremy suspected there was more to Kevin than met the eye. He highly doubted the boy was actually being serious - Kevin was intelligent enough to know that these career prospects were not going to happen - and rather he saw it as the youngster’s own way at avoiding the question. It was easier for Kevin to play the dumb, day-dreaming child than to admit he actually had no clue what he wanted to do. The same thing went for his answer to the other question, where he’d just put: _Win a wrestling match against Scotty._ Well that certainly wasn’t happening on Jeremy’s watch.

 

Scott’s was surprisingly a lot more mature, despite the expected spelling mistakes. He wrote that he wasn’t sure what he wanted to do yet - not many nine year olds do - but thought something creative or practical would suit him best. His actual wording was: _sumfing wear I can make stuff or do sumfing witch needs lots of ennergy. that wuld be AWESOME!_ Jeremy knew exactly what he meant.

 

In terms of what Scott wanted out of the lessons; he had just wrote “ _FRIENDS_!”. Jeremy reminded himself to praise the boy later for his correct spelling of that particularly tricky word.

 

Perhaps the most shocking result, was how similar Kirstie and Avi’s had been. Both had been very blunt and vague with their answers, simply putting _“family business”_ for where they saw themselves in ten years time. For the other question; Avi had wrote: _It does not matter,_ and Kirstie had very nicely said: _I don’t care._

 

But by far the hardest to read had been young Mitch’s. Reading Mitch’s answers had been like reading a diary passage from a middle aged man who had nothing left to live for, not a fourteen year old boy who should be living life to the fullest.

 

The first question Mitch had just said whatever earned him the most money. No ambitions, no dreams, just whatever he had to do to survive. But there was something Jeremy noticed the boy had erased out but if he held the paper up to the light he could make out the original sentence. _“What future?”_ Well that was fucking depressing.

 

For what he wanted to get out of the lessons, Mitch had simply put: _Make me a big ass lawyer so I can get my dad out of prison._ Jeremy knew the youngster was just joking, but there was no reason he shouldn’t be able to become a lawyer. Then again he found it very hard to imagine the boy walking round in a suit and tie with a briefcase by his side. No, from his limited experience with Mitch, he seemed like someone who would excel better in the creative industries. The only obstacle stopping Mitch from achieving this was Mitch himself.

 

Jeremy had been taught since was a toddler, to believe that he could do whatever he wanted and not to let anyone stand in his way. What had Mitch been taught in his fourteen years? That you might as well forget your dreams because big ass lawyers will most likely take away everything you ever loved and ensure you’ll be working the fast food chains your whole childhood. In fact all of the kids could do with a little lesson on how to dream a little bigger.

 

Echoes of his last conversation with his mom came back to haunt him. Who _was_ going to teach these kids that important lesson.

 

He was Jeremy Lewis. He was a teacher. So it was going to up to Jeremy Lewis to teach them.

 


	4. Lookout, The Cops Are About

_When a man is denied the right to live the life he believes in, he has no choice but to become an outlaw. - Nelson Mandela_

 

**Saturday 4th October**

 

It was coming up to two o’clock and the days were eventually starting to cool down. Kirstie for one was extremely grateful as she stood lookout while one of her uncles was doing a deal. It was one of the riskier drug deals they could make, although well within their own territory, the cops were known to stake out this area quite frequently.

 

Her week had been alright. It was actually the first time she had turned up to school everyday for a whole week in sometime. That could have something to do with Mitch. That boy was one of the few people in her life she hadn’t felt like murdering so far, and he’d been going through some tough shit with his mom the past few days. On the outside, the kid looked like a gust of wind might knock him flat on his face, but the boy must have one hell of a strong resilience if he managed to work, go to school and look after his mom at only fourteen.

 

Her recent good attendance could also have something to do with “the quiet one”. She found herself fascinated with the boy named Avi. For the life of her, she couldn’t work out what his deal was.

 

Absentmindedly, Kirstie rubbed at the sore spot on her wrist, where her older step-brother had grabbed her harshly the night before and tried to kiss her. His plan hadn’t quite worked out, as the only thing Kirstie had let him leave with were a pair of bruised balls. 

 

She continued to act the typical teenager, smoking and pretending to text outside the corner store. The perfect cover story for any onlooking cops; they weren’t going to pay attention to a bored, young girl who was most likely waiting for her mom to finish shopping. As she was typing out imaginary text messages on her phone, it began to ring. That was weird, hardly anyone ever called her at this time of day.

 

The teen glanced around once more at her surroundings but all seemed as normal. Curiosity getting the better of her, she answered it.

 

“Hello?”

 

“Kirstie!” the unmistakeable voice exclaimed.

 

“Scott? How the hell did you get this number?”

 

“Mitch gave it too me!” _That little bitch. Okay, I take back the not wanting to murder him thing._

 

Her brows furrowed in confusion as she replied, “But why- no wait, since when did you own a phone?”

 

“Oh I’m at Kevin’s, he said I could use it.” Now that he mentioned it, Kirstie could make out the distinctive laughter in the background.

 

“Right…and you’re calling me because…?”

 

“Just to say hi! And to tell you that Michael, y’know that one guy who lives next to me–”

 

“Scott, let me just stop you there.”

 

“But–”

 

“Scott, I’m busy. You can tell me about it on Monday okay?”

 

“Oh okay,” he only sounded slightly disappointed, and she could hear Kevin yelling at him to come and play, “Bye Kirstie!”

 

“Bye ya little rat.”

 

The girl shook her head at the shouts that came through the speakers as she hung up. _Childhood huh? So that’s what normal kids did at that age._ She wouldn’t know, the most play she had been allowed to partake in as a kid was learning how to beat someone up.

 

She mentally chastised herself. She should have just hung up on Scott straight away. She liked the little boy, just, but she knew she couldn’t get too close. He was technically “the enemy” in her world and there was no use getting attached to someone her family might end up killing one day. Scott was from the ‘West Rises’, home to their number one rivals, The Strikers. Lately it seemed like someone from one of the gangs was getting shot or stabbed up every other day, as their territories increasingly overlapped.

 

Now Kirstie didn’t know if Scott would actually get involved with the gangs, or if indeed he already was (she couldn’t imagine the boy was drug running yet), but she knew if her family ever found out she’d been talking to him outside of school it would mean trouble for the both of them.

 

Nevertheless that couldn’t stop the smile appearing on her face every morning when she was greeted by a “Hey Kit Kat!” followed by the little boy running up to her, an excited grin on his face, as he proceeded to tell her about what his rowdy neighbours had been up to the night before.

 

Kicking her foot out at a nearby bottle, her eye suddenly caught sight of something not quite right. A black BMW 3 Series had just driven past her. Now that alone was nothing out of the the ordinary, if it weren’t for the fact that Kirstie was sure the same car had passed her twice already. It was also good to point out that she knew that particular make was commonly used by undercover cops.

 

As nonchalantly as possible, she turned to watch the car drive off down the road again. She wanted to be sure before she made any rash decisions. The first thing she noted, was how low the back of the car sat to the ground. That could mean a number of things; it could be filled with groceries, have a dog in it…or it could be loaded with police kit.

 

The second thing she noted was the tiny glint behind the number plate. It was almost impossible to see, but her trained hawk eyes had spotted it. She was almost certain it was a cop car now. No one else would have infra-red lights positioned in that place on their car.

 

You could never be too certain though. Kirstie waited until the car made it up to the junction. She wanted to watch how it took the corner. No offence to any BMW drivers, but they were known in the city for their brashness and inconsideration of the traffic laws. She held her breath in anticipation to see what the driver did.

 

He took the corner perfectly. _Fucking cop._

 

She figured out their game plan; that they’d most likely been scouting the area, spotted her uncle acting suspiciously and driven round the block a few times to keep tabs on him. If that was their third time passing her, it was almost a given that their next move was to close in on the deal going down. Kirstie figured she had less than a minute before the cops cornered the older man.

 

No fear, she knew what to do. There was a reason she was her gang’s favourite lookout. Calmly and confidently she made her way down the alley her uncle was in. This transaction was going to have to be timed perfectly if it was to be pulled off.

 

Keeping a steady gaze ahead of her, making sure they were still safe, she pretended to accidentally stumble and walk into the man.

 

“Cops at your six in less than thirty,” she whispered, secretly transferring the bag of cocaine from his pocket to hers.

 

“See you in a few days,” she said, walking briskly on as if nothing had occurred. Her uncle wasn’t quick enough to get out of this one but at least they’d have no concrete evidence to pin on him. Less than five steps away the cops came barreling around the corner, guns raised and shouting at her uncle and his customer to lay flat on the ground. They completely ignored her as she let out the perfect scared little girl scream. _Suckers!_

 

Her mission completed, she set off to find the guy who could relocate the white powder to the right guys and knew one who liked to hang out near the fast food place Mitch worked at. She smirked. The kid would probably be disgusted to find out his workplace was also a popular place for dealers. He might be fond of the antidepressants, but anything stronger than that he had absolutely no tolerance for. _Smart kid. He’s got a good future ahead of him, no matter what he thinks._ Maybe she could pay him a little visit to brighten up his day some more.

 

Before she got there however, she pocketed a few grams of the cocaine to sell in her own time. If anyone asked about the missing white stuff, she could just blame it on her uncle. He _was_ the one who had been caught after all, if it hadn’t been for her he would’ve been in serious shit. Besides, there were a pair of boots she had been saving up for, and the money she would make from the little package would help greatly towards that investment. If she felt any guilt for her deceit, it quickly dissipated. This was her world, so she might as well make the most of it.

 


	5. Kevin, Mighty Warrior King

_In learning you will teach, and in teaching you will learn. - Phil Collins_

 

**Wednesday 8th October**

 

Jeremy’s week was slowly going from bad to worse with each passing hour.

 

On Monday, his dishwasher had decided to stop working and kindly flooded his whole kitchen. On Tuesday he had somehow managed to simultaneously spill coffee on one of the senior members of staff and smash a prized school trophy. And that same day, he must have eaten a dodgy piece of chicken, because by Wednesday morning his stomach was performing it’s own acrobatics routine.

 

This meant having to make frequent trips to the bathroom on a day he’d planned for the kids to do math of all the subjects. It was a topic all the kids could improve on, and he had just printed out different levels of worksheets for them to fill in. They were all for once being relatively well behaved, even Kevin and Scott who had both come in extremely hyper, but had calmed down after Jeremy sat with each of them for ten minutes.

 

It probably would have been a great lesson, if Jeremy didn’t have to keep taking bathroom breaks.

 

“Bow down to me! I am a mighty warrior king come to take you hostage!” Kevin cried out, standing up onto his table and waving his sword (a poster tube he had found in the storage cupboard) around like he owned the place.

 

“Kevin I’m trying to do the work,” Scott complained to no avail as Kevin continued to whack him with his sword. “C’mon Kevo, it’s hard enough already!”

 

This was the scene Jeremy had walked back to, after popping to the bathroom for two minutes, and it was the last thing he needed.

 

“Kevin Olusola! What are you doing?” he shouted, trying not to go into full hulk mode.

 

Kevin however, was in no mood to play along. He had to go to a friend of his grandmother’s dinner last night; which meant no play, no running, no shouting, just sitting pretty in his chair and making small talk. He had wanted to scream by the end of it he was so bored. Usually, he would have gotten rid of that excess energy in the yard before school started, but he had made the mistake of asking his grandmother what a threesome was, which resulted in a lecture from his furious grandmother and amused grandfather. That meant he had been late though, and there had been no time for play.

 

And so now here he was. Trapped in a tiny classroom, with nothing to do but fill in a piece of paper which he had long since completed, the questions were easy. He had tried to be well behaved, distracting himself by doodling avengers characters around the edge of the page. But then he had ran out of room. And then Mr L had _left_ the room. And then he had spotted the poster tube sticking out of the cupboard at the back of the room.

 

Instead of answering his teacher’s question, he just squealed out, “you’ll never destroy me!” and pulled Scott out of his seat, grabbing the smaller boy around the waist, and proceeded to carry him off to the jail, which was in fact just a mix of the bookcase, two chairs and a beanbag.

 

“Oh my God, just relax!” Mitch shouted at the boy as he went past.

 

Kirstie meanwhile, decided to be helpful and play along with the show. “Oh no who will save us from the wicked Kevin?” she cried out, dramatically waving her arms around in the air.

 

That was all the encouragement Scott needed. This scenario reminded him too much of when his older sisters used to play make believe with him, and there was no way he was going to let this opportunity pass by now.

 

Jeremy began panicking. “Everyone just stop what you’re doing!” he demanded, but no one listened to him.

 

The young man sighed. He’d put a lot of effort in trying to get Scott in the right frame of mind and now the eleven year old had hyped up the blond once more. He knew he couldn’t blame the dark skinned boy but sometimes he wished the two could be in different classes altogether, because trying to get both of them to work was near impossible.

 

The young teacher observed the scene in front of him. Scott and Kevin were quickly turning one corner of the classroom into something that resembled a bomb site, while Kirstie and Mitch were now both flailing about in their seats like a pair of dying fish. Jeremy felt ashamed. He had completely lost control of a class of five.

 

_That’s it, I should just quit right now. Who was I to ever think I could help these kids? I should have just–_

 

And it was then, completely out of the blue, that Avi walked over to Scott and Kevin, silent as ever, and pointed to one of the chairs. The two youngsters froze as the taller boy stopped right next to them, with his arm calmly raised, and his face just a serene stare.

 

“Um, do you want the chair Avi?” Kevin finally questioned.

 

Avi nodded, and for the first time graced the room with a slight but real smile, rendering Kevin almost incapable to move. However, after a few seconds of gaping at the older boy, to Jeremy’s disbelief, he slowly slid one of the chairs over to the silent teen, thus deconstructing his “jail”.

 

Avi took hold of the chair firmly and bowed his head in thanks, before turning and walking away. He paused after a few steps, and turned to wave Scott over.

 

“Y-you want me to sit by you?” the youngster stuttered out.

 

The eldest boy just shrugged, but still gestured to the extra seat politely, and after a moments hesitation Scott followed the older boy like a lost dog, picking up his stuff on the way there.

 

With his jail in ruins and his playmate gone, Kevin’s game was pretty much over. He stood looking a little lost in the corner for a while, but then slowly made his way back to his own seat.

 

He took a few deep breaths and raised his head to meet Jeremy’s stunned expression. “Can I have some harder questions please Mr L?” he asked, holding up his completed worksheet.

 

Jeremy blinked a few times, still trying to work out exactly what had just happened, but eventually managed to regain his senses enough to search around his desk for some more questions. “Here you go, there’s some harder ones for you,” he offered Kevin the new page. The boy took the sheet from him and started on it straightaway, leaving Jeremy to return to his own seat in quiet confusion.

 

With the class back to normal, the young man could eventually sit down and try to work out what, as a teacher, he was supposed to do next. _I need some time to think. Please God, you all better stay quiet now._

 

Mitch eyed his teacher strangely as the man was seemingly staring into space, and kicked Kirstie’s chair to grab her attention, “That was strange,” he concluded.

 

“Yeah…that’s one way to put it,” she replied, her gaze still lingering on the silent teen.

 

Avi’s quiet presence seemed to work magic with the little blond, and to Jeremy’s astonishment, by the end of the lesson the youngster had came up to him with a completed maths sheet. As the rest of the kids were all filing out of the class he called out to the now retired warrior king.

 

“Kevin can you stay behind? I want to talk to you.”

 

“Yes Sir,” the boy said quietly, lowering his eyes to the floor as he wandered over.

 

“What happened today Kevin?” he asked.

 

The boy kept his head firmly down and shrugged his shoulders, and all of a sudden Jeremy felt nothing but sympathy for the youngster.

 

“I’m sorry!” he suddenly burst out, “I’m sorry Mr L! I never meant to be so bad. I j-just get so _frustrated_ sometimes when nothing exciting is happening, and i-it gets _really_ hard to control myself.”

 

Jeremy put a hand up, silencing the boy’s nervous explanation. “It’s alright Kevin.”

 

The youngster took a deep breath and continued, a lot calmer this time. “I thought that because I’d already finished my work, it’d be okay…” he said quietly. “But I just ended up stopping everyone else from working didn’t I?”

 

“Well you certainly created quite the scene,” Jeremy gave a slight smile before leaning forward in his chair.

 

“Kevin, promise me one thing,” he requested. “Next time you come in feeling like you did today, let me know. We can work through it together, don’t just try and deal with it yourself.”

 

The boy nodded solemnly. “I will,” he agreed. “I promise.”

 

“Go on then,” he waved Kevin off with a grin. “Go and have lunch.”

 

The boy eagerly stood up, obviously excited to eventually be allowed to let off some steam. He made it to the door before he suddenly turned around. “Mr L?”

 

“Yes Kevin?”

 

“Thanks for not getting mad,” he told him earnestly.

 

Jeremy just nodded in response, shocked that Kevin thought he would’ve got mad for something he knew the boy struggled greatly with. Was that how teachers had reacted to Kevin in the past? Without hearing the youngster out first?

 

The young boy nodded back and walked calmly out of the classroom for the first time, and Jeremy had to wonder if, maybe, miracles did exist.

 


	6. Bonding On A Shed Roof

_Each friend represents a world in us, a world possibly not born until they arrive, and it is only by this meeting that a new world is born. - Anaïs Nin_

 

**Monday 13th October**

 

The wind was picking up as the year fell deeper into October, kicking up the leaves and litter around Kevin’s feet. Mitch and Scott were sitting on top of the old bike shed, idly swinging their feet over the sides, the older boy having just lit up a smoke.

 

The three of them were hanging out in a fairly secluded area at the back of the school, a place that Kirstie and Mitch had begun claiming as there own. The two youngest boys had been playing spies and tried sneaking behind the others to see where they were going, thinking they were pure geniuses until Kirstie had ambushed them at a corner and practically smashed their faces together. 

 

Upon realising that they were being tailed, Mitch immediately growled at them to “fuck off” but surprisingly Kirstie invited them to join them that break, much to her friend’s dismay. The two young boys accepted the offer instantly; Kirstie and Mitch were steadily building a reputation of being the coolest kids in school, after a few incidents where they had sent some jocks running for their mommies; and for a nine year old and an eleven year old, being seen hanging out with the cool kids was, well, _cool._

 

However once the secluded area was revealed to the youngest boys, Kirstie had conveniently disappeared claiming she had some “business to take care of”, walking off with Mitch glaring daggers into her turned back.

 

And so the two troublemakers were left with the sullen and grumpy boy who, when Scott had climbed up onto the shed roof with him, had looked like he seriously considered shoving the younger boy straight back off.

 

There was an awkward silence in the air as everyone just sat wondering what they were supposed to do in each others company until, completely out of the blue, Mitch asked, “What’s your deals then?”

 

“Huh?” they both replied.

 

Mitch gestured to the three of them, “We’re all stuck in the rejects class for a reason, I’m apparently a danger to myself, you’re insane and you…I’m not sure why you’re in it actually,” he finished, looking at Scott.

 

The blond just shrugged, “I’m dumb.”

 

Kevin frowned. He hated it when Scotty put himself down. _You’re not dumb, you’re just behind in lessons._

 

Mitch on the other hand just laughed the comment off, “Yeah, as is half of this school. Being dumb isn’t good enough a reason to put you with the likes of me.”

 

_Well at least he didn’t say with the likes of me,_ Kevin thought.

 

“Nah,” Mitch carried on, pausing to take a long drag on his cigarette, “there’s got to be more to it than that,” he pondered, waving a painted nail at the both of them, “you two must have other stuff going on,” he decided, in an almost accusing tone of voice.

 

He took one last drag of his cigarette before chucking it to the ground, ordering Kevin to “stamp it”, and leaned back on his hands, peering up at the cloudy sky until a frown crept onto his face. Sitting back up he asked the younger two, “Your parents treat you alright though?”

 

Kevin and Scott didn’t answer right away. They had both been unnaturally silent so far but it was only because they were stunned with the amount Mitch was actually talking to them. He’d probably spoken more to them in the past few minutes than he had in the previous four weeks, and when he had it had usually been to tell them how annoying they were being.

 

Scott looked to Kevin for him to answer first, and the dark skinned boy returned the gesture. In the end they both ended up answering at the exact same time.

 

“I live with my grandparents,” Kevin corrected Mitch, while Scott just murmured out “I guess so.”

 

“What do you mean Scott? Who do you live with?”

 

Mitch was suddenly very interested in the little blond, having completely ignored Kevin’s answer or maybe not heard the reply at all, and turned to give the youngster his rare, full attention. Kevin didn’t mind though, he too was interested in what Scott had to say. He knew more about Scott’s situation than Mitch but the answer still confused him. _I thought he was happy at home? He always seems happy anyway._

 

A wave of sadness swept through Scott’s features, “My mom. My dad died in Afghan,” he told Mitch quietly, absentmindedly fiddling with the dog tags around his neck.

 

“Jeez, I’m sorry kid…that sucks,” Mitch responded, talking to the youngster for once without a hint of sarcasm.

 

“Yep.”

 

“Makes me realise how lucky I am that my dad is alive at least.”

 

“What’s the matter with him?”

 

Mitch ran a hand through his dark hair, in kind of nervous manner, “He’s in prison,” he said, quickly flitting his gaze to Scott to check his reaction.

 

The youngest just continued to swing his feet, “Oh…” was his only reaction, but he turned to meet Mitch’s look, an expression Kevin couldn’t quite place on his face. Then they were quiet.

 

Normally the following silence would have been very unnerving for Kevin, but something was telling him it wouldn’t be right to interrupt the silent conversation the other boys seemed to be having at that moment. _See Grandma, I can be quiet when I want to be._

 

After what seemed like an age but was probably twenty seconds at most, Mitch shifted his body so he was sitting facing Scott, and for the first time his eyes appeared to be filled with an emotion other than gloominess. “So you get along okay with your mom then? She good to you?” he questioned, giving the little boy’s shoulder a poke.

 

“Yeah, I guess so, when she’s around.”

 

“When she’s around? You said you lived with her, right?”

 

“Nah, I mean yeah, I do…s’just I hardly ever see my mom. She works, like, thirty seven hours a day!”

 

“Impressive,” Mitch smiled, “My mom either sleeps or watches TV all day. That’s why I have to always work after school.”

 

Scott couldn’t hide his surprised look. “Really? My mom threw out our old TV, to buy me new clothes.”

 

Mitch snorted, “Looks like my mom could use some tips from yours.”

 

“Mmm,” Scott half-heartedly agreed, “At least you get to see your mom though,” he countered.

 

“Yeah…there’s always that,” the eldest boy responded quietly.

 

At this point Kevin decided he had been out of the conversation for long enough. And anyways, he had a few questions of his own for the other two. He wanted to know how similar they were to him. He had yet to meet anyone who’s parents abandoned them, but Mitch and Scott were the closest.

 

“So neither of you two have dads?”

 

“I have a dad!” Scott retorted indignantly, “He’s just in heaven…”

 

Mitch subconsciously moved closer to the younger boy, tilting his head to the other boy on the floor, “I still have a dad too Kevin. It’s just he took the blame for something and now he’s in prison. But he’s still my dad, nothing’s ever gonna change that.”

 

_Okay, well the most I remember about my dad was him shouting at me to be quiet in the car. I can’t even remember his face properly. Does that still mean I can call him my dad?_

 

He ventured another question. “But neither of you like your moms?”

 

“I love my mom!” Scott responded in the same indignant tone, offended Kevin would even think to question his love for his mom.

 

Mitch took a bit longer to answer but in the end also had the same response. “My mom…is complicated, but yeah, I love her. Always have, always will, no matter what she does.”

 

Kevin was slightly confused by their answers; from what they had both said about their mothers earlier made him believe that they couldn’t still love them. _I remember my mom. She always wore these big hoop earrings in her ears, and she liked to sing. Hated me singing though. Hated me making any noise really,_ he thought bitterly. _Scott and Mitch’s parents are dead, or in prison, or not looking after them properly, but they can still find it in their hearts to love them? What was it that I did so wrong to make my parents hate me?_

 

He peered sadly up at the two boys, who incredibly were still chatting. _My mistake, they’re not like me at all. At least not when it comes to this. They know their parents and they love them. My parents didn’t even give me a chance._

 

With this new found perspective, Kevin really needed some cheering up and knew just the right way of going about it. Waiting until the other two had paused in their conversation (he was raised to be polite after all), he loudly declared war on Scott.

 

Therefore, once again, Kevin was able to initiate another wrestling match with the blond, leaving Mitch to spend the rest of his break acting the flustered mother hen while the younger two rolled around in the dirt.

 


	7. Wishes

_Childhood should be carefree, playing in the sun; not living a nightmare in the darkness of the soul. - Dave Pelzer, A Child Called "It"_

Monday 4th November

It was the morning of the first day back at school after Avi's week off, having been demanded to stay home to assist his father's assistants with filing papers. The weather around the city was progressively getting colder but the temperature remained a steady sixty-five degrees in a certain black Mercedes. Through it's tinted windows, a pair of emerald eyes looked fixedly out at the passing buildings, trees and people on their way to work.

Avi wished for nothing more than to join the mass, to move as one with the throng of people, to disappear. Instead he was sat in silence on the cars leather seat, with nothing but his thoughts to keep him company.

Right now his mind were on his...friends? No, friends was not the correct terminology, they were merely kids in his class. He had no doubt that, while the other four were slowly building friendly relationships with one another, they still looked to him as the quiet freak in the corner. Especially after his little episode the other week when he had tried to stop the craziness from escalating.

He didn't really know what he had been thinking, he had acted purely on instinct, only wanting to help their poor teacher who looked absolutely lost. Avi was surprised how well his plan had actually worked out, especially when Scott had managed to finish all the questions while sitting next to him. Hey, maybe he had begun to make one friend in the youngest boy.

The little one had come up to him on his last day and handed him a small drawing. It was not bad for someone his age, if a little confusing as to what was going on. From what he could make out it was a cartoon version of him in bed with a bubble showing what he supposedly was dreaming of.

In his dreams he was riding a dragon to rescue a blonde girl from a tower. Avi had wondered how Scott had guessed he really liked dragons, but then realised it was probably because all they ever saw him reading was Game of Thrones. In the drawing there were also strange looking creatures that seemed to be guarding the blonde girl. He could make out a troll that had Kevin's same hairstyle and a giant snake with piercings that was wrapped around the tower. For himself, Scott appeared to have drawn himself as a t-rex in the background who seemed to have no relevance to what was actually going on but was happy all the same.

"What are you smiling at boy?" a sudden harsh voice growled in his ear.

_Shit, I didn't even realised I had been. What is wrong with me?_

His father was a man short in stature, and even shorter in temper. He was a businessman by nature and had an eye for details. He was also a man consumed by hatred for his son.

A bow of his head in submission was Avi's instant reply.

"Are you thick? Did that answer my question?"

 _No Sir. Sorry Sir_ , he shook his head ferociously, making himself seem as apologetic as possible.

"Oh so we're still avoiding the question I see. Got something to hide from me have you boy? Keeping secrets from your own father now."

Avi had no reply. He could actually talk to his father if it was really demanded of him, but there was nothing he could say now that would stop his father's onslaught. And anyway, if he did actually speak his father would most likely tell him to shut up before he got any further than the first syllable. He could only be grateful that his father was driving, so wouldn't be able to lash out at him. Then again, that hadn't stopped him before, but that had been a long time ago and Avi had been a lot smaller.

"You good for nothing piece of shit."

He wished he could be a man. He wished he could just tell his father to shut the hell up and seal his vile mouth shut for eternity.

"Ungrateful boy."

He wished he was brave enough to leave home and never look back. He wished he wasn't so weak and could find the strength to stand up to his tormentor.

"Spoilt fucking brat."

He wished that his mom had never died in childbirth. He wished he could go back and stop himself being born and just make everyone lives easier.

"Just you wait till later."

He could wish all he wanted, but Avi had learned in his short life that it doesn't matter how hard or how much you wish for something, dreams rarely come true.

The car suddenly came to an abrupt halt and Avi had never been more relieved to see the school gates in his entire life. In fact his excitement lead to him making another grave mistake.

"Did I say you could get out?"

Avi shook his head timidly.  _What is wrong with me today? I'm just asking for a beating._

"Pathetic. Get the fuck out of my sight," his father spat out, giving him a hard shove out the passenger door.

The teen fell to his knees on the sidewalk outside the school, quickly scrambling up before anyone saw him, and turned to watch the black car speed away, blowing up dust in his direction. He blinked his eyes shut hard, he wasn't going to cry. He couldn't let his emotions take over now. Tears were only for weak men.

He began scurrying across the yard. He was later than usual - due to his father giving him a lift on his way to a client meeting for no other reason than needing someone to take his anger out on - and that meant there was a much higher risk of running into Toby and his gang of jerks.

He was nearly at the entrance to his building when- 

"Hey Kaplan!"

_Well shit._

Avi quickened his pace hoping to make it inside before they caught up with him. He still refused to break into a run though; he wasn't about to be seen running from the enemy with his tail between his legs. He heard their laughter and hissed as a sharp pain shot through his right elbow.

_Throwing rocks? Really? I didn't realise we still lived in the middle ages._

The barbarians kept pelting stones and cans at him, but still Avi maintained only a brisk walk. Only once he was inside, did he allow himself to break into a run, charging up the stairs like a boy possessed and sprinting though the halls to his classroom.

By the time he reached his destination he was sweating and felt as though his heart would give out if he ran any further. And yet something about seeing the familiar door sent a strange feeling tingling through his spine. It was a feeling that was quite foreign to the boy. It was a feeling of safety.

 


	8. Understanding Mitch

_I have learned now that while those who speak about one's miseries usually hurt, those who keep silence hurt more. - C.S. Lewis_

 

**Thursday 14th November**

 

“Mitch, I don’t want to hear another word! Is that clear?”

 

“Sorry, you have to speak up a bit Mr L. My hearing’s going in my old age.”

 

The teen mockingly put his hand to his ear and pretended to search around for his imaginary glasses, knocking all his work on the floor in the process. Jeremy was not amused. Mitch had been acting up all morning, even more than usual, deliberately trying to provoke his teacher and fellow students.

 

“What the fuck are you looking at shadow boy?” the boy snarled at Avi, who had been glancing nervously across at him for the past few minutes.

 

“Hey chill out Mitch.” Even Kirstie was trying to reason with the younger teen.

 

“Kirstie, back to your work. Mitch, I mean this when I say that was your last warning,” he addressed the two.

 

The young girl obediently did as he asked but there was something in Mitch that day that was turning him into the devil of all children.

 

He glared up at Jeremy. “Yeah? What you gonna do about it? You’re not even a real teacher.”

 

Jeremy could feel his blood beginning to boil. That statement would rarely have any effect on him but he’d already tried everything with Mitch that day; begging, ordering, sympathising, bribing, but nothing was having any affect on the boy’s attitude. And quite frankly it wasn’t an attitude he wanted in his classroom.

 

“Poor Mr L is aaall by himseellf, just aaall–”

 

“Y’KNOW WHAT MITCH, you clearly don’t wanna be here, so why don’t you just get out of my class and stop wasting my time!” he bellowed at the skinny teen.

 

The boy finally focused on him, clearly shocked. In fact all the kids were looking at him in surprise, for they had never heard him raise his voice so much before.

 

Mitch shifted in his seat, “well that’s fine by me,” he mumbled. “Where do you want me to go?”

 

Jeremy marched over and picked up Mitch’s work off the floor, shoving the bag into the boy’s lap. “I don’t know, and right now Mitch, I really _really_ don’t care.”

 

The boy’s mouth just hung open for a few seconds. This wasn’t what teachers usually said to you. They usually gave you detention or sent you to the Principals’s office, not just wipe their hands of you completely. There was no changing this teacher’s mind now though. “Just get out,” Jeremy continued to order him, opening the door ready for his exit.

 

Mitch stuck out his chin in defiance, “Yeah, well it’s not like I give a damn. You’re doing me a favour actually Mr L,” he muttered, storming out of the room, leaving behind a fuming teacher and four uncertain young faces.

 

Only when the teen disappeared around the corner could Jeremy finally relax, slumping back down into his chair with a sigh of relief mixed with regret. He glanced up at the rest of his class and saw that they were all giving him the same strange face.

 

_Oh come on, don’t look at me like that! He was annoying you lot too._

 

“Did I tell you to stop your work?” he warned them and, after a few lingering gazes, they returned to their essays.

 

Jeremy also tried to return to his own work but there was a feeling nagging in the back of his mind that wouldn’t let him forget about the way Mitch had been acting earlier. He wondered what the boy was up to now; if he’d stayed in to cause trouble school, or if he was roaming the city streets. Despite his tough front the boy liked to put on, Jeremy could tell Mitch would not be able to handle himself if he got into a real fight.

 

_Don’t worry about him, he’ll probably just go to work early. He’s always talking about how he wants to make more money._

 

And so Jeremy pushed the kid to the back of his mind and forced himself to stop wondering why the teen was misbehaving and just accept it as moody adolescent hormones.

 

It was about an hour later when Scott raised his hand with a very urgent question, “Mr L, can I use the bathroom? he asked, while wriggling around in his seat, obviously genuinely desperate; so Jeremy excused him, smirking when the youngster scurried out of the room.

 

While he was undertaking his important business, Scott noticed one of the mirrors was smashed. That wasn’t too unusual, the bathroom was a popular place for indoor fights.He was just finishing washing his hands when he heard it. A small cry coming from one of the stalls. Now most kids would have quickly retreated away from the strange sound, but Scott was not most kids. If someone was upset there was no way he could leave without seeing if he could be of some assistance.

 

He gently knocked on the door where the noise had come from.“Hello? Are you alright?” he timidly asked. There was no reply but when he pressed his ear against the door he could still he whimpers from within.

 

With no regard for personal hygiene, Scott got down on his hands and knees so he could peer under the small gap below the door. _Huh? Those boots look really familiar…_

 

“Mitch, is that you?” There was no reply, just the same small cries. “Are you okay in there?” Scott asked once more, a bit more urgently this time as he was really getting quite worked up now from the lack of response. “Did you run out of toilet paper?” he tried. Still nothing.

 

Ever the persistent child, the little blond pushed open the door to the neighbouring stall and clambered up so he was standing on the toilet seat. Even then he wasn’t quite tall enough so he took a leap of faith, jumping up to grab the top of the panel that separated the stalls, the wood groaning under his weight but still holding it’s place.

 

Wriggling a bit and using all the upper body strength he possessed he managed to hook his head over the side, giving him an aerial view of the boy below. 

 

At first he wasn’t quite sure what he was seeing. “Mitch?” he asked tentatively. Then his blue eyes widened in horror. “MITCH!”

 

Jeremy was just reorganising his files when he was dramatically interrupted by Scott bursting into the classroom, his blue eyes wide with terror, little body shaking from shock.

 

“M-Mr L,” the boy stuttered out as Jeremy rushed over to him.

 

“Scott?” Jeremy knelt down in front of the boy, party to be at the same eye level and partly to shield him from the rest of the class, at least until he knew what had the youngest so upset.

 

“It’s Mitch, h-he’s hurt. In the b-bathroom,” Scott shakily whispered, tears pooling in his eyes.

 

Even before Scott had finished his sentence, the words “It’s Mitch” had immediately sent Jeremy into a panic. The words that followed almost had him hyperventilating and feelings of guilt and dread flooded him before he even understood exactly what had happened. All he knew right now was that he needed to get to the boy.

 

Calling out to the rest of the class that he had an errand to run with Scott - no need to get them all panicked seeing as they were fairly oblivious at the moment - he allowed the blond to lead him from the room and knocked on a neighbouring door to ask the teacher to keep an eye on his remaining students for a while.

 

Quickly and silently, the two rushed through the corridors to the nearest bathroom and Scott pointed to one of the stalls, hanging back nervously as he waited for his teacher to take control. Well, that wasn’t going to be very easy as what Jeremy saw before him was of a boy curled up on the floor in absolute hysterics, surrounded by blood stained tissues. Tissues that had been used to try and clean the mess of cuts along the boy’s arms.

 

“Mitch!” Jeremy cried, falling to the floor next to the crying boy and grabbing at his arms. “Oh Mitch what have you done?”

 

The young teen continued to cry and desperately tried to cower more into himself. He was definitely not in the mood to talk to Jeremy.

 

“What happened Scott?” the young man asked, eyes still glued to Mitch as the younger boy tiptoed up behind him.

 

“I dunno! I just found him like this.” The youngster answered, his face filled with confusion and sadness as the tears began to fall from his eyes down his cheeks.

 

 _Jeez, how long has he been here?_ Jeremy wondered, horrified by the thought that the teen had come straight her after Jeremy had marched him out of the classroom.

 

“C’mon, let’s get you up,” he coaxed, practically lifting the boy up and surveying the damage that had been done to the skinny arms. He was no expert but luckily it seemed the cuts were superficial, not deep enough to cause any serious damage. Still, that was a lot of red tissues.

 

Suddenly, the teen grasped at the teacher’s arms. “I’ve never done it before, I promise!” Mitch sobbed, clutching what was left of the toilet paper to his still bleeding arms, looking wildly into Jeremy’s eyes. “I just wanted to try to understand…my mom she–” He burst into tears again before he could finish that sentence but Jeremy didn’t have trouble filling in the blanks.

 

 _There you go you dumb idiot. There’s the reason the kid has been a bit angsty lately,_ he chastised himself. He had been more concerned about getting his paperwork completed than realising that Mitch had been dealing with a turn in his mom’s depression. How bad had it got that the teen felt the need to try it out himself.

 

_Holy shit, this was not in my training._

 

One thing was for sure though: they couldn’t stay standing in the bathroom. “I’m taking you to the hospital, okay?” Jeremy made the only decision he could make, ignoring Mitch’s protests as he practically carried the kid away.

 

“I want to come too!” Scott bounced along next to him. “Please Mr L, _pretty please?_ ” he begged earnestly, and Jeremy didn’t have the heart to turn the youngster away after everything he had just seen.

 

“Okay, c’mon then you little rascal.”

 

Quickly and quietly once more - so as to attract as little attention to Mitch as possible - the three made their way to the staff car park, where Jeremy bundled the two boy’s into the back and handed Scott his jacket, telling the blond to make sure he kept the injured boy’s arms wrapped up in it.

 

Then he sped out of the school and drove as fast as the law and his own sense of safety allowed him to. His mind was in a spin as he sped through the city while constantly checking anxiously in the rear view mirror to make sure Mitch’s condition hadn’t worsened. He still couldn’t quite process what had happened. He had begun his day by shouting at the infuriating boy and now he was driving that same boy, who was completely in tears, to the hospital.

 

 _Well there you go, that’s another lesson for you Jeremy,_ he scolded himself. _Never assume a kid is being annoying for the sake of being annoying. There is always a reason and it’s your duty to find it._


	9. Doctors, Lego and Jim's Brother

_You can learn many things from children. How much patience you have, for instance. - Franklin P. Jones_

**Later that day...**

Scott swung his legs patiently while he waited for the doctor to finish taking care of Mitch and speaking to Mr L. He was still pretty shaken from what he'd witnessed earlier but the legos one of the nice nurses had given him were helping to keep his mind somewhat occupied.

"Oh no I'm trapped under this massive snake! Someone help me please?" he mimicked a frightened woman's voice, who'd unfortunately been squashed under the doctors stethoscope.

"Ha-ha! Have no fear, Captain America is here!" he exclaimed, bringing the stars-and-stripes suited lego man into the mix. "Don't worry I will save you."

"Don't be silly stuck person. I will be the one to save you!" he exclaimed, flying Iron Man down onto the table.

"Why should you save him? You're just a guy with a stone in his chest!"

"And you're just an old man in spandex!"

"Alright that's it I've had enough of your bull...poop," he corrected himself just in time, remembering the company he was in.

He made the legos fight while keeping an ear open for what the adults and Mitch were talking about.

"I have to tell your mom Mitch. I would get in trouble if I don't."

"Why? I promise I wouldn't say anything!"

Mr L and Mitch were arguing about Mitch not wanting his mom to know he'd hurt himself on purpose.

"I'm sorry Mitch, but she has to know. I have responsibility as your teacher to keep her informed."

Mitch seemed to admit defeat, head and shoulders slumping as the doctor finished wrapping up the last of the bandages. "What's going to happen now?" he asked quietly.

The doctor looked up from his clipboard, "Well I do have the means to refer you to a children's mental health clinic," he began, but at Mitch's horrified look he smiled gently. "But I don't know if that is what's best for you."

 _No!_  Scott thought.  _Mitch already said he didn't mean to. It was just an accident!_

The doctor lowered his voice and put a reassuring hand on Mitch's shoulder, "Can you just answer me one question? Tell me again in your own words, what made you do this?"

Scott had a feeling the next part of the conversation was going to be for adult ears only and so tried to make it seem he wasn't paying any attention at all by ramping up the lego action.

"What makes you so famous Cap? I have an awesome suit of armour, all you have is a metal frisbee."

"Yeah, well at least I don't need my suit to get a girlfriend."

"Scott, can you wait outside for a bit?" Mr L interrupted, putting an end to his show and presence in the room. "I promise we won't be much longer."

"Oh-kay," the boy sang out.  _Well it was worth a try._

After he was ushered out of the small room and the door shut behind him, the blond walked a few steps towards the waiting area before realising the door hadn't actually been closed properly.

Glancing around to make sure no one was watching, he stealthily made his way back to the door, pressing his back up against the wall and tilting his head so he could make out the words through the crack.

Mitch was talking, trying to reason with the doctor. "I thought maybe if I did it also, I'd understand. I thought it might even make me... _feel better_." He heard the teen sigh shakily. "But it didn't. I just hurt. A lot." There was silence and Scott could only imagine the three were having some sort of intense staring contest. "I can assure you, both of you," Mitch finally carried on, sounding a lot more determined this time, "that I don't wanna end up here again. I hate the smell of hospitals."

It was true. The building smelt of chemicals and in particular the children's ward smelt of...babies.

The doctor began talking once more, saying "There is a a free program we are running right now, I can go and get some leaflets for you," and then Scott heard chairs moving as someone - supposedly the doctor - stood up.  _Uh oh, time to dip!_

Quick as a flash, he zipped down the corridor and around the corner before the door had even opened. Having only narrowly escaped certain doom there was no way Scott was risking going back to eavesdrop again, so thought he might as well just hang in the kids waiting room like he was instructed to in the first place.

After a while on his own, Scott decided he quite liked hospitals, despite the funny smell. Or this part of the hospital anyway. There were lots of cool toys and loads of other kids to talk to. He spent some time taking the legos on an adventure around the circular room and spoke to a four year old girl who had fallen off a ladder, hurting her head, and a seven year old boy who had stuffed an eraser up his nose.

He was busy pushing all the buttons on a Buzz Lightyear when he heard someone mutter, "Jim turns eighty-eight, Jim turns eighty-eight."

"Who's Jim?" he questioned the elderly man responsible for the muttering.

The old African American gentleman squinted through his glasses at the small child in front of him. "My brother," he told Scott, "he turns eighty-eight. I have to remember that."

"Why are you in the children's ward?"

"Didn't your mother ever tell you not to talk to strangers?" the old man mumbled grumpily. "I'm waiting for my great-granddaughter," he answered Scott anyway, "silly girl stapled her finger."

Enjoying the unusual conversation the old man was providing, Scott clambered up on the seat next to him. "What's it like being old?" he asked the man innocently.

"Beats being dead," came the gruff reply, before once again saying, "Jim turns eighty-eight."

"Why do you keep saying the same thing?"

"Umm, because I'm old."

"Well, my Mom says the same thing. Is that because she's old?

The old guy narrowed his eyes at him. "What does she say to you?"

"She says 'Grow up, stop being silly.'" he squeaked out in his best "strict mom" voice.

The old guy raised his thinning eyebrows. "She says that to you?"

"No she says that to our neighbour, Michael."

That made the old guy laugh for some reason and he put up with Scott continuing to chat with him until Mitch came out and told him they were to swap.

"What's happening to you?" Scott had asked the older boy.

Mitch had just shrugged, "I don't know yet kid. I really don't..."

"Oh okay..." Scott looked at him with concern, "well you can sit here with...Jim's brother. Jim is turning eighty eight!" he shouted out as he marched back down the corridor.

Upon arriving back at the room, Scott found out that Mr L had asked if there was the possibility the doctor could check Scott out as he was concerned about his growth, or lack of it, and wanted to know if it were normal. 

The doctor asked Scott a few questions: How tall his parents were? Scott didn't know but said his dad was taller than Mr L. Mr L, who had only briefly met the man once (a fact Scott was very eager to hear), also recalled this and guessed him to have been around six-foot-six. As for his mom, after a few visual descriptions from Scott - "she's about this much shorter than that cupboard" - they estimated her to be around five-foot-nine. So quite a tall family then.

The doctor agreed with Mr L that at his current age Scott should be quite a bit taller and suggested he have a one-off appointment with a children's nutritionist to make sure he was eating all the right foods for a growing boy. Scott didn't like the sound of a nutritionist, but loved the idea of being taller, so he agreed to go to the appointment. Mr L even offered to drive him if his mom couldn't make it.

After Scott had thanked the doctor for mummifying Mitch's arms and reluctantly handed back the legos, he and Mr L made their way back to the waiting room once more.

"Y'know I wish Mitch was as agreeable as you little rascal," Mr L had told him as they strolled side by side.

"Huh?" Scott looked confusedly up at his teacher.

"With agreeing to have appointments," Mr L explained. "We couldn't persuade him earlier to see a lady who could help him."

Scott frowned."Why? Doesn't he want to get better?"

"He doesn't think he needs help. That's the problem Scott."

"Oh...I guess that sounds like him."

"Hmph, yeah" Mr L had half laughed before smiling down at him, "One more thing Scott."

"Yep?"

"I'm very proud of you. If it weren't for your ingenuity, Mitch could have been a lot worse. And seeing as you've been very well behaved since we've been here, how about we stop off at McDonalds on the way back?"

"That is the most awesome plan ever!" he beamed at Mr L, jumping and waving his arms about. "But what does ingenuity mean?"

His teacher laughed, "it means you're awesome," he said, ruffling his hair.

Scott grinned,  _Mr L is the best!_

His smile faded though when he caught sight of Mitch, who had moved away from Jim's brother to sit in the quietest part of the room. The older boy was hunched up on one of the seats, his head lowered causing his hair to fall over his eyes. He looked very unhappy.

Mr L had been about to immediately rush over to the teen when Scott tugged on his arm, "Can I talk to him first Mr L?"

The young man looked at him, then studied Mitch and looked to him again. "Okay, go on kiddo."

The youngster walked forward slowly, "Mitch?". The boy ignored him. "Mitchy?" he tried again, adding a slight whine into his voice.

The boy jerked his head up suddenly, "Oh sorry, didn't see you there," he apologised, quickly rubbing his eyes.  _Has he been crying again?_

"Time to go?" the bandaged boy asked.

Scott shook his head. "Only when you agree to see that lady who's supposed to help you."

Mitch sighed, "Scott, I don't want to decide now. I'll think about it later."

"No you won't. I know cos that's the excuse I always use when my mom tells me to clean our flat. I say 'I'll do it later' and she says 'You'll do it now' cos she thinks I won't do it otherwise...and she's right."

Mitch huffed, blowing his hair out of his eyes. "It's just that this," he waved the leaflets around, "isn't for people like me. They'd just be wasting their time. I already told everyone I'm not gonna do it again."

Scott trotted up so he was directly in front of Mitch. With the older boy sitting down, the blond was actually taller for once, giving him a sense of authority. He folded his arms defiantly, "But they might not just help you with that. They might stop you from being sad all the time, and then you could be more fun, like that one history lesson with the rude pictures, 'member?. You looked happy then."

"That was fun wasn't it?" Mitch's eyes twinkled slightly, presumably reminiscing at his, Kirstie's and Scott's immature behaviour that afternoon. "I just don't see how talking to someone who doesn't even know me will help."

"Well they're not going to know you if you never turn up," Scott rolled his eyes jokingly. "'Sides, if you don't need help then you'll find out when you go. It's free anyway, and everyone likes free stuff!"

"How'd you know it's free?"

"Umm, I guessed," Scott quickly evaded the question. "Just try it, then you can keep me company when I see the growing lady Mitchy! I'm seeing a lady who's gonna tell me how to grow and I don't wanna go but it might help me like this other lady might help you!"

Mitch was quiet. He stared at the leaflets in his hands for what seemed like an age to the young boy until he eventually looked back to him.

"Okay, you've got yourself a deal Scott, I'll come with you."

Scott was ecstatic.  _I didn't think I'd convince him that easily._

"You have to shake hands for deals." He had to make sure Mitch was really up for it. He thought about spitting into his hand but figured that wasn't the right thing to do in a hospital and the older boy would most likely be grossed out.

Instead he just held a hand out to Mitch and the elder shook it firmly. "You drive a hard bargain kiddo," he said, faintly smiling for the first time that day.

"C'mon then you two," Mr L appeared behind them, a bright twinkle in his eyes as he smiled at the two. "It's time I dropped you both home."

"Drop me off on seventeenth street Mr L, so you don't have to drive in to my neighbourhood," he told the teacher. He didn't think the man would want to run the risk of getting carjacked tonight and Mr L readily agreed.

"Oh and don't forget McDonalds!" Scott added excitedly as the three walked out of the ward into the main hospital.

"We're getting McDonalds?" Mitch queried.

"Yep," Scott grinned at him. "Because of my ingenuity!"

Scott stuck close by Mitch's side as they walked but when they were nearly by the exit, he instinctively grabbed hold of the teen's hand, expecting immediate rejection from the older boy who, by all accounts, hated having his personal space invaded, especially by Scott and Kevin. However if anything, the teen just held the small hand even tighter, clinging to it like it was his lifeline as they walked out into the calm evening air.


	10. Mitch Remembers Yesterday

_Every war has it's turning points, and every person too. - Meg Rosoff_

**Friday 15th November**

It was early in the morning, only just gone six, but Mitch was already awake. It was a bit disturbing actually; he wasn't sure if he had actually existed at this hour before. Last night had all been a bit of a mind fuck that had left him in a weird state of half aware/half dreaming ever since.

When Mr L had dropped him off home at around ten o'clock he had hoped his mom might already be in bed. His teacher had phoned his mom at the hospital to let her know about "the situation" and when Mitch had asked about her reaction, Mr L had said his mom sounded understandably shocked but had remained calm. Mitch had hoped that meant she wouldn't be too fussed. After all it wasn't like she could be that worried about him when she was the one who started it. He laughed at himself now, realising that had been childish thinking.

The moment he had waved goodbye to Scott and Mr L, and set foot through his front door, he had been physically tackled by his mother wrapping him up in her arms.

" _You stupid, silly boy!_ " she had wailed at him. Her eyes had looked red and sore from crying as she planted his face in kisses.

She had then begun performing her own repetitive " _why?_ " routine, just like he had done the day he'd found her over the kitchen sink. When he hadn't responded to her straight away his mom had started to get angry and claim he was just " _trying to make my life harder_ ". That had certainly riled him up.  _Oh I'm sorry. I'm the one making your life harder am I? Selfish bitch._

Mitch had to leave the room then before he said something he might regret, merely calling out to his mom that she should take a look in the mirror before accusing him of being a fuck up.

Yep. Yesterday had certainly been day like no other. Quite frankly he was quite surprised he still had the energy to be awake at this time of day. Then again, even though his mind was active as the dawn light shone through his curtains, his actual body felt stiff and sluggish. Mitch predicted that his body was the one complaining more than his brain right now, despite his brain being the one who went completely crazy last afternoon.

Running his hands over his arms under the covers of his bed gave him a strange sense of comfort. He supposed he should be grateful he hadn't gone too far with the mirror's edge. He hadn't been lying when he said he had no intention of ever doing it again. He had too little tolerance for pain and too much love for clear skin to want to put himself through that ordeal once more.

On the other hand, he hadn't meant to do it in the first place. It had just kind of happened, as if he were on auto-pilot. So perhaps the mandatory week he had been given off school and work would be good time for him to clear his head to make sure he wouldn't lose control again. Mitch felt lucky that was the only outcome they were enforcing upon him, for now at least. He would have thought he had made his teacher stressed and mad enough for the man to demand to have him carted off to some insane asylum in the middle of nowhere.

Actually his teacher's reaction had been quite the opposite to what Mitch had been expecting. Mr L had even apologised for his outburst during class in the car, an action which nearly sent Mitch back to hospital when he choked on his drink. The young man had been nothing but calm and supportive of him ever since he had practically carried him from the bathroom to his car.  _Embarrassing_ , Mitch thought. _Another reason not to repeat my actions of today._

Not only had Mr L explained everything to the doctor so the teen didn't have to, but he had even bought him dinner afterwords. Granted it was from a rival company to where Mitch worked, but he didn't care. He had been starving.

And then there was a certain blond kid who had literally been a little star all day. He felt awful about what he'd put Scott through. The little boy probably had enough shit to deal with at home without Mitch's own problems spilling over into his. But despite everything, the boy had not complained even once.

Not once had he acted up during the drive to the hospital or the first meeting with the doctor who had made sure Mitch wasn't going to bleed to death. He had been a little entertainer during the five hour wait to see another doctor, never whining, never whinging, only making up short plays with his legos to show them or thinking of jokes to try and make Mitch smile. 

If he could ever be as half decent a person as that boy was then he'd be a much better human being.  _Step one with that plan: sort my fucking life out_. Mitch racked his brain to think back as to what caused his mini breakdown. The only logical explanation he could put his finger on was the amount of stress he had been under. There was a promotion coming up at work, so he had been busting his balls recently to impress the higher ups. That and the fact that his mom was becoming more and more zombie-like with each passing day meant he had been feeling a pressure no fourteen year old kid should have to cope with.

In the sickest part of his mind, Mitch had to at least acknowledge that him slicing up his arms had put some colour in his mom's cheeks. At least his suffering had done something to improve her complexion.

Anyway, after another hard shift at work and an argument with his mom when he got home, when he got to school yesterday, he had no intention of complying to anyone's orders. Maybe it would have been better if he'd just stayed at home to cool off and saved everyone the bother of dealing with his moody ass, but he had yet to miss a school day so far this year. He had never cared for his attendance before now so he didn't know why it seemed to matter so much. It just gave him a sort of satisfaction knowing he could say he'd turned up everyday, like a normal kid would. Well, now he had a week off so that plan went sailing out of the window.

Mitch internally winced when he thought back to his behaviour the day before. He had been a brat, there was no denying that. He had made snarky remarks throughout the lessons, cussed at everyone - even Kevin - and pretty much tried to make everyone feel as miserable as he did. He knew now that had been selfish. Who was he to decide that he was so much worse off than everyone else? Kirstie and Scott were hardly living lives of luxury in the high rises and Kevin had mentioned a few times neither or his parents were in his life. And Avi, the boy who Mitch had absolutely no reason to be pissed off at, had quietly sat there as always while Mitch threw abuse his way.

Out of everyone though, Mr L had been the one who suffered the brunt of Mitch's rage, which had led to his understandable "get the fuck out of my class Mitch". A less well educated person might have put the cause of Mitch's trip to the hospital down to his teacher's handling of the matter but Mitch had already decided if it hadn't happened yesterday, it would have happened sometime in the near future. Sometimes he forgot how young and inexperienced his teacher must be. They all knew it was his first job out of college and even though he'd never specifically mentioned his age, he really didn't look that much older than Avi.  _He's just a kid like us._

Yesterday, when he had first stormed out of class, his mind had just been filled with hatred towards Mr L and his stupid lessons, and his stupid face in his stupid little classroom. However after a few minutes and three broken locker doors that hatred had begun to be directed in another direction. Inwards. To Mitch himself. For about an hour yesterday there had been no one in the world he hated more than himself. He couldn't stand to be in his own company, and spent a good while marching round the school trying to  _escape himself_. It didn't work. No matter which corner he turned, the bastard was still there.

In an attempt to try and calm himself down, he had found himself bent over the bathroom sink, splashing cold water over his red face. That had been a mistake. For the moment he looked up he noticed his idiotic face in the mirror. His own face looked almost as if it were mocking him, saying ' _look how pathetic you are_ '. Suddenly Mitch had just been consumed by a kind of blinding white anger and the next thing he knew, the mirror was lying defeated in pieces on the floor.

It had been when he was staring at those shards of glass, that an idea had formulated in Mitch's mind. This was his chance. He could try and understand why his mom did it. Try and get answers for himself because trying to get them out of the woman herself seemed like an increasingly impossible task.

Picking up a medium sized piece of glass, and making sure no one was around, he had scurried into the nearest stall and sat down. The first cut had actually been the easiest to make. With no previous experience to go on, he had quickly, in one smooth motion, dragged the razor sharp edge across his forearm. He didn't really know what he was expecting but it was nowhere near the pain he felt at that precise moment. Was it really supposed to hurt that much?

He had let the blood run down his arm, mesmerised by it's vivid colour, waiting to feel something new, to experience the supposed relief this brought on for his mom. He must have waited at least ten minutes, the cut already beginning to dry up, and still he felt nothing but pain. Well Mitch wasn't about to give up that easily. He wasn't going to let that broken mirror go to waste.

By the time Scott had entered the bathroom he had repeated the same action at least a dozen times over. With each cut becoming a harder one to make, and every one making him angrier and angrier that he was still no closer to understanding what the fuck his mom got from doing this. Mitch was pretty sure Scott wouldn't have been the first one to hear him crying in the stall, but he was the first person with enough of a conscience to investigate it. Mitch wasn't even sure if if had been him whether he would have helped; most likely he would have gone and got someone else to deal with it.

When the boy's head had eventually popped over the stall Mitch would have laughed at how ridiculous he looked if it hadn't been for the fact that he was dripping blood across the floor. And then when the boy had returned again with a wide-eyed Mr L, Mitch had just wanted to run from there sights forever. But there wasn't much room for manoeuvring in a bathroom stall, so he had stayed crying pathetically on the floor until the teacher had heaved him up.

At the hospital he had hated the sympathy he had seen in the doctor's eyes. Save that for someone who needs it had been his reaction as his cuts were cleaned and bandages were applied to his arms. And then when the guy had waved the free programme information in his face he wanted to scream that they were just wasting their time.

Mitch was pretty sure Scott had been eavesdropping during that conversation; such was the blond's reaction when he had asked how Scott knew the programme was free, but he didn't really care if the kid heard what he had to say. He'd seen and heard everything else so far.

Afterwards Scott had gone off to be checked up himself and left him with the weird old guy who kept muttering something about someone turning eighty or whatever. Not one for conversations with complete strangers, he had instead retreated to the quietest spot he could find, away from all the snot nosed kids and exasperated parents.

He had been in the middle of trying to think of ways he could get everyone off his back when the little boy had returned and completely rerouted Mitch's way of thinking. There was only one other person who had been capable of achieving that and that guy was his dad. His dad. The man who had convinced him to try his first vegetable, to jump of the high diving board, to speak to the waiter in French when they were on vacation.

He regretted agreeing to go now. There was nothing he could imagine that would be worse than sitting for an hour with someone pretending to understand what he was going through. If only he hadn't made that promise to Scotty.  _Huh, that's funny. When did Scott turn into Scotty?_  Well anyway, there was no way he would be able to go back on the promise he made to that young boy. 

His first appointment was in five days and Mitch was going to be counting down those days with dread but hey, Kirstie was always telling him he should try new things out of his comfort zone. If this didn't count as out of his comfort zone then he didn't know what did.


	11. Born A Bully

_The hurt that troubled children create is never greater than the hurt they feel. - L. Tobin_

**Thursday 21st November**

Jeremy paced the classroom as he waited for the rest of his students to arrive. As always, Avi had turned up a few minutes before the registration bell and was probably worried his teacher was going insane before his very eyes.

On a normal morning the two would just keep their own distance from each other. Jeremy had tried at first to just have a one-sided conversation with Avi but it was literally like talking to a wax figure. Except this wax figure could still judge you when all you could think to talk about was how you watched the movie Frozen the other day.  _But seriously, it was an alright movie._  Today though, Jeremy needed to vent his anxieties to someone, and hey, maybe it was for the better if that someone wouldn't repeat what he said to anyone.

He stopped pacing back and forth across the tiny room and instead started circling Avi's desk, probably making the poor boy feel like some cornered animal. Stopping his pacing, he leant forward, placing both hands on the teen's table and began ranting into Avi's unsuspecting face.

"Not gonna lie to you Avi, but as you can see, I'm not the most relaxed guy this morning."

The boy gave nothing away as to what he was thinking, but stared at him with those big, green, doe eyes of his.  _Well he looks like he's paying attention to me anyway._  But there was no way to tell for sure.

"Sometimes I wonder if I'm really in the right job at times like these," he continued, rubbing a hand over his tired eyes. It was Mitch's first day back after his incident with the bathroom mirror a week ago and he had no idea how the day would pan out.

Avi was still staring at him and the way he was positioned - gazing up at Jeremy with almost unblinking eyes, face still unreadable - reminded the young man of his childhood dog, Dexter. He used tell that dog anything and everything on his mind and something about the way Avi was looking at him triggered Jeremy to utter something he most definitely shouldn't have.

Giving a short bark of a laugh and turning to look out of window he told the boy, "Y'know I didn't even want this job. I applied for a normal teaching position here as an initial job, but I really wanted to quickly move on to a...to someplace better than this."

The boy just stared at him and teacher almost started banging his head repeatedly on the desk.  _Shit. Why the fuck would I tell him that?_  For once he was glad Avi didn't like to exercise his right to free speech.

Excusing himself quickly back to his own desk, Jeremy spent the rest of his "alone time" surfing the various job sites for his dream job. His mom would probably kill him if he told her he was thinking of quitting if another job became available, but it didn't matter anyway; there was nothing that would take someone with as little experience as he had.

As per usual, Kevin came bounding in right on the bell closely followed by Mitch... _wait, Mitch? On time?_  That didn't sound right in his head but his eyes were telling another story. The boy sauntered in like he owned the place and smiled at his teacher when he saw him. Jeremy almost had a heart attack.

Knowing the boy wouldn't want a big fuss made of him, he simply said, "It's good to have you back Mitch."

"It's good to be back Mr L."

"Oh wow! I didn't know you were behind me! I'm glad you're back!" Kevin cried out happily, before running over to the boy and hugging him.

"Woah, okay, let's not get too carried away here kid." Mitch tried to pry himself away, but Jeremy spotted the small smile on his face.

_This day is not looking too bad so far._

However, just to mix things up, it was Kirstie who came in looking like she could go on a murderous rampage at any second.

"Morning Kirstie," Jeremy greeted her.

"Mm," was the only terse reply he got.

As soon as the girl sat down he could see Mitch trying to get answers out of her but getting no luck either. That was a cause for concern. Usually those two were as thick as thieves.

Jeremy was very aware over the next half hour with how he treated the girl; there was no way he wanted a repeat of last week. What he had learned from that incident was to assume there was a valid reason for his students fluctuating moods.

As it would happen, everything was soon made clear when his youngest finally barrelled through the door at his normal late time. "Kirstie punched Toby in the face this morning!" was Scott's greeting to the class instead of a normal "morning".

"Did you Kirstie?" Jeremy asked the girl, cautious about how to approach the situation.

"Yeah, so what?" she snapped, glaring at Scott. "Learn to keep your mouth shut kid."

"Hey, it's not his fault," Mitch defended the boy and Kirstie gave her friend a weird look.

"Since when were you on his side?" she demanded.

Mitch shifted in his seat, "I'm not..." he mumbled.

Kirstie, still puzzled by his reply, turned back to the young teacher. "Look, I just don't wanna talk about it. Don't you have a lesson you'd rather be getting on with or something?" she challenged.

With any other group of kids, Jeremy's natural teaching reaction would have been to reprimand Kirstie for her attitude or send her outside, but he was beginning to realise that the normal forms of discipline was not the approach that was best for his students.

So he let the comment slide - after a few deep breaths - and began his lesson. As it was Mitch's first day back, he had planned an easy and hopefully fun morning, starting with a multi-topic quiz. He told the class that they weren't having a normal lesson because he'd been out partying the night before (which wasn't technically a lie) and so hadn't had time to plan the whole day. Really though he didn't want to make it obvious to Mitch that things had been switched up because of him.

After handing out answer sheets and setting up the quiz presentation he arranged them into two teams. Avi and Kevin were arguably the most academically intelligent so he separated them.

"Scott, Avi and Mitch you're one team. Kevin and Kirstie you're the other. Want to give yourselves a team name?" he asked, more for the youngest two than anyone else.

Scott raised his hand. "Can we be the Sunshine of Rainbows and Happiness team?"

"Gay," Mitch deadpanned.

"That's rude."

"I'm allowed."

Jeremy looked at the small space he'd allocated for team names. "Uh, how about just the Rainbow team Scott?" he asked hopefully.

The blond shrugged. "Yeah that's cool too."

"We should be the thunder team, y'know, to balance things out!" Kevin belted, doing a thunderbolt pose in the process.

"Whatever. I don't care." Kirstie had her head resting in her hand, the perfect image of someone with no fucks to give.

Kevin narrowed his eyes at the older girl. "Well then if you don't care maybe we should be the poop team," he said, deliberately trying to get a reaction out of her. "Or the exploding diarrhoea team," he laughed, getting closer to the teen's face. "Or the Kirstie is a big mean bully - ow! Mr L, Kirstie hit me!"

"I tapped you." Kirstie said calmly.

"She tried to rip my arm off!" the younger boy cried out, clutching his arm and falling to the floor.

Kirstie just rolled her eyes at the young drama queen. "Is that what you want? Cos I can do that also, it'd be my pleasure" she threatened, and Jeremy didn't want to let things go any further in case she actually went through with it.

"Okay cut it out you two!" he ordered. "I'm writing you as the Thunder team," he decided for them.

Despite that initial argument, the rest of the morning actually went pretty well, with Kevin and Kirstie eventually winning by five points due to Kevin knowing a surprising amount about 90s pop music. The biggest event had been after the quiz was over, when there was an outburst from Kevin after he was told there was no prize for actually winning.

 _"You've earned my respect,"_  didn't seem to do it for the boy for some reason.

As the bell for lunch was blaring out Jeremy took it as his chance to slip over to Kirstie and request her to stay behind for a few minutes. The girl looked like she wanted nothing more than to just go but thankfully, maybe due to his undemanding manner, she agreed to remain for a bit, dragging herself over to the teacher's desk.

"Take a seat," he told her. "Drink?" he asked as she sat down

"What you supplying?"

"Uh, well you can have Dr Pepper or um Dr Pepper," he replied, looking in his drawer. "Usually just have them around for Scott," he explained, offering her a can, which she took.

He didn't start the conversation straight away; waiting to see if Kirstie would provide any light on her punch up this morning first. When it became clear that she was just as good at the waiting game as he was, Jeremy had to give in.

"So how much of an ass is this Toby guy?"

That took her by surprise. "What makes you think he's an ass?"

"Eh," Jeremy made a face, "You're not the sort of girl to go around punching nice people."

He studied Kirstie's face to gauge her reaction and noticed her face harden at his words.

"You don't know that for fact. I can assure you I've hurt people in the past who didn't deserve it," she told him, hitting her finger on his desk in time with the last few syllables. Leaning back to her original relaxed position she gave Jeremy something of a half smirk. "But yeah, this guy's a humungous ass," she confirmed for him.

"Well that's something I guess." He sighed. "You're not a bad person Kirstie."

"No offence Mr L, but you don't know the first thing about me."

"I know you've got ties to The Syndicate," he paused, unsure how much Kirstie knew the school knew about her.

She didn't seem fazed though, and just shook her head. "Then you're even more naive to think I'm a good person."

"Who your family is doesn't dictate who you are."

"Oh Mr L," she laughed sadly, "you really couldn't be more wrong." She was quiet for a second and Jeremy wondered if he was going to hear anymore. But then she stood up and took her leave. "Thanks for the drink," she said as a goodbye.

He hadn't given her permission to go, but Kirstie was always a girl who liked to play by her own rules. That conversation hadn't really achieved anything other than him finding out that punching this Toby kid was apparently justified. Still, he knew that as a responsible adult he shouldn't encourage his students to become vigilantes of the school.

Kirstie was a tricky one however. Jeremy didn't know the first thing about how crime families were run but he could guess that the girl had been exposed to violence her whole life. How do you teach someone, who has got used to seeing people fight to gain what they want, that hurting another person isn't the right way to go about it?

The young man took a swig of his own Dr Pepper. At this rate he should see if he could get sponsored by the company. All in all that little chat could have gone better. Then again, it could have gone a lot worse. At least Kirstie hadn't punched him in the face.


	12. It's A High Rise Thing

_When ghetto living seems normal, you have no shame, no privacy. - Malcolm X_

**Friday 22nd November**

"Can I keep this?"

"No."

"Why?"

"Because it's mine and you don't like baseball."

"I do! I just don't like it when they throw the ball at me."

"That's the whole point of the game dumbass." Kirstie snatched the snapback off Scott's head and put it back on her own.

The sun was shining through the window and the two were relaxing on the bean bags, both lying flat on their backs opposite each other, in the midst of some sort of game which just involved lightly kicking each other occasionally with their shoeless feet. Really though, they were just waiting for a certain teen to get back from buying lunch so they could begin talking about the comings and goings in their resident tower blocks.

All three of them had decided to stay inside at lunch, meaning Avi had company for once. There was no particular reason for remaining in the class other than the fact that they were starting to feel a strange sense of ownership over the tiny room. It was like they had their own staff room. Anyway, this lunch, there was a lot at stake. They had a bet with Mitch.

Speak of the devil, the skinny teen walked back through the door, having made a quick - maybe slightly against the rules - trip out of school grounds to get Starbucks.

Kirstie began first.

"How's your night then?" she asked the boy laying opposite, giving him another kick in the process.

Scott smirked. "It was aight. Tommy, y'know that baller with them huge dogs. Well he had some beef with Michael y'know my neighbour," Kirstie knew all about Michael, and already decided he was an incredibly dumb but nice enough guy, without having ever met him.

The blond continued, "So anyway, I'm just in my room acting chill y'know, and suddenly I hear Tommy shout out to his boys, " _I'm gonna bus a cap in that fool!_ " and I thought, y'know cos I wanna be a good neighbour and all that, that I should make sure he gets help if they shoot him y'know."

 _This kid's certainly either very brave or very stupid_ , were Kirstie's thoughts as Scott excitedly got to the ending of his little anecdote.

"So I got out to see what's crackin, and I see all of Tommy's crew is up in Michael's crib. So I poke my head round the door and I'm like " _yo, be easy G's I gotta be up soon for school tomorrow_ " and this one guys like " _oh shit, there's this little kid watching us dawgs, we should probably dip, I ain't murking nobody with no six year old around_ ". I wanna tell them " _you got it all wrong dawgs, I ain't no six year old_ " y'know, but they jet off back to their own hood before I have the chance, one guy even says to me "piece out little playa."

 _Little guy's gonna be making a name for himself already_ , Kirstie smirked.  _I wouldn't be surprised if someone from The Strikers has already singled him out as a possible future member._  The thought of that made her sad for some reason. It wasn't like the kid would have much of future anywhere else.

Scott kicked her some more to make sure she was still paying attention. "And then once they're gone Michael says like " _yo, props to you Scotty, you really just squashed beef with those guys youngin_ " and y'know what, he gives me a twenty, like I don't think I've ever even held a twenty before. So just proves being a good neighbour can pay off y'know," he finished the story with his trademark cheeky grin.

"Not bad going little rat." And she meant it. Despite their millions of obvious differences, there was something in the boy that reminded her of herself at that age. That sort of fearless recklessness mixed with a smart ass mouth when needed.  _If only we were from the same high rise._

Scott twisted his head to glance at Mitch. The other boy was sat in his chair, still sipping on his drink, his face devoid of any emotion for the moment.

Scott turned back to Kirstie and gave her a nod. "Alright, wha' 'bout you?"

"Nothing as exciting as that. Just been following one of my cousins, y'know Joey who's been getting up recently, he wants to be all city."

"I've seen tags round my block!" he told her excitedly.

"Yeah, so last night he was working on this married couple at the yards, and I mean this piece is a proper burner, he wants to maybe turn it into a whole car someday. So he's just there with his fat caps and flo pens, y'know the usual stuff, all legally bought by him might I add. And he's just about to fill in when this toy comes up and says Joey's been racking up on his boy."

"Then what happened?" Scott was completely entranced.

"I just show this toy my 22 and ask him if he's heard of The Syndicate and he goes white, and he's Latino, but he goes white and says " _sorry dawgs I musta got it twisted, my bad_ " and he's gone off crying to his mama."

"Awesome!"

They both turned to Mitch, waiting for his reply. He didn't say anything at first, instead finishing the rest of his coffee until it started making slurping sounds. Drink done with he took the straw out of his mouth and sighed. 

"Okay you win. I kinda knew what you were talking about," he pointed to Scott. "I had absolutely no idea what the fuck you were going on about," gesturing to Kirstie. Frowning when Kirstie and Scott started high-fiving he challenged the youngest: "Actually I bet you don't either."

_Okay now to see how much the little rat was paying attention to my beautiful tale._

"I do!" Scott exclaimed, "She was with her cousin Joey, who's kinda a big deal cos his graffiti tags are everywhere at the moment, and he wants to be the king of the city. So she and him were where they store the trains and he's working up something cool on two cars of the train but he maybe wants to do the whole train one day. He's got all the usual supplies which he bought himself" he emphasised nodding to towards Kirstie who returned the gesture with a wink.

"And then this guy who is bad at graffiti comes up and says Joey's been stealing stuff from his friend, so Kirstie takes out her 22 gun and asks him if he's heard of her crew, and the guys like "no sorry I got it wrong, my fault" and he leaves crying!"

He looked to Kirstie for her to confirm his story. She gave a short nod. "Precisely."  _Who says kids don't have long attention spans?_

Mitch dismissed them with a wave of his hand. "Okay, you two are just on another planet."

Kirstie rolled onto her front so her chin was resting in her hands and Scott copied her. "Look, that's just what we've grown up with," she explained to the younger teen.

"Yeah...and I guess out of all the idiots out there, you're the idiot I would trust the most with a deadly weapon." Mitch half complimented her, aiming his coffee cup at the bin and missing by a country mile.

"Shit," he hissed, heaving himself up to go and retrieve it.

She felt another soft kick on her leg and turned to the boy still lying next to her. "Hey, you're alright y'know," Scott said, with a small crooked grin.

"Yeah...you're not bad either you rat," Kirstie replied with crooked grin of her own, before pretending to aim a kick at his crotch, a trick that sent the boy rolling off his bean bag in a panic and into a pair of shiny shoes.

Disoriented after his near death experience, Scott looked at the pair of feet as though he had no idea what they were. Turning his head up in confusion, he soon realised what his head was resting on. "Oh...hi Avi!" He grinned sheepishly up at the oldest, who was looking down at him with his phone in hand.

The silent boy leant Scott a hand, yanking him off the floor and held out his phone in front of the small boy.

Scott tilted his head in confusion, "You want me to see something?" he asked.

Avi nodded, almost shyly, and Scott peered over to study the screen.

Kirstie watched with great fascination as she saw the blond's eyes light up with surprise and excitement.

"Is this your room?" Avi nodded once more and Scott turned to her eagerly, "Look Kirstie! Avi's got the drawing I did for him on his room window!" he told her, unintentionally grabbing the phone out of Avi's hand to show the girl.

Kirstie scrutinised the photo.  _Nice phone by the way._  And sure enough there was that dumb little drawing the little blond had spent about an hour on before half term, plastered against a supposed bedroom window. She remembered now how amused she was when Scott had signed it as if he were Van Gogh. Squinting slightly, she tried to be nosy and see if she could make out what was through the window.  _Is that a statue? Who the hell has a statue in their garden?_

Realising she was giving the photo a lot more attention than any normal person would, she hurriedly handed the phone back to the oldest boy.

"You should get that framed," she joked. Avi lowered his head to the floor but Kirstie could have sworn she caught the glimmer of a smile appear on his lips.  _Oh my God, you really are painfully socially inept._

"Hey Scotty," Mitch called out, waving his arm, "Come and watch this video I saw last night." He held up his own phone and Kirstie could only presume he was on Tumblr.

 _Huh, those two must've really hit the right chord at the hospital_ , Kirstie pondered as the blond bounced over to the older boy like a puppy to it's master.  _It's weird._

She suddenly realised Avi had still yet to retreat to his usual corner; instead still awkwardly standing next to her studying the carpet. With his head lowered the back of his neck had become slightly exposed and Kirstie frowned when she saw what looked like a bruise peaking out from the top of his shirt. _I thought I made the message clear enough to Toby to cut it out._ Maybe she hadn't dislodged his nose far enough.

She never understood what pleasure they got out of tormenting the silent teen. It wasn't like he would ever put up a fight. They would get more resistance from a kitten. Taking one step closer to the older boy she gave him a gentle nudge with her shoulder.

He jumped as if she had just tasered him, and then turned bright red.  _Well there you go, you do have more than one facial expression!_  She let his embarrassing reaction slide for now; a luxury she rarely afforded anyone. "Y'know I think that's kinda cute what you did there," she informed him, nodding towards Scott. "You're good with him," she continued, "and I know Kevin looks up to you too, in his own sorta way."

And for the first time since she had met him, Avi gave a proper smile at the mention of the youngest two, his blush only deepening on his cheeks at the compliment.  _Hey, he's not got a bad smile._  Kirstie could tell that he was unsure on how to react next and gave him the opportunity to escape.

"Well, I'm going outside for a smoke. I'll catch you later."

Avi just nodded once more and Kirstie had to laugh.  _He's like some sort of string doll._  She gave him one last smirk and sauntered out of the classroom like the queen she was.

The rest of her lunch was plagued by one thought though. A memory she couldn't easily shake out of her head. She had gotten Avi to smile. He had smiled a  _real_  smile. At  _her_. That made her feel important and only increased her fascination in the quiet weirdo.

And so, over the course of her break, a half ass plan formulated in her mind. She was going to get Avi to be more...more normal. Or something different to how he acted now. What harm could it do in trying to get to know the silent boy a bit more? It would be like a fun sort of challenge. She just hoped he wasn't a serial killer in disguise.


	13. Museum Trip

_A child is a curly dimpled lunatic. - Ralph Waldo Emerson_

**Wednesday 27th November**

It was the day before Thanksgiving and the school had graciously surprised Mr L the previous Friday afternoon with the announcement that his students were being treated to a trip to the city's museum. The teacher hurriedly handed out the permission slips - five days notice was not enough time for this group of kids - and in the end had to call up Scott and Kevin's parents the night before, because Scott's mom hadn't had time to sign it and Kevin had put his in the washing machine.

Taking Kevin to a museum, or any other large public attraction for that matter, was always guaranteed to be a mission and a half. It was not a job for adults who would get easily embarrassed if he suddenly decided to break out into song and dance in the middle of the museum cafe.

The boy already knew most of the stuff the information boards were talking about and so there was nothing left that really captured his interest. Some of the skeletons were cool but you weren't allowed to touch them so even they got boring after a while.

Within twenty minutes of having arrived the youngest two had gone awol in the prehistoric section - they had been running rings around a giant skeleton of a t-rex, which had been fine until after one particular lap when they didn't reappear again - leading the others on a wild goose chase through half the museum until they eventually found them in an area dedicated to Ancient Egypt. The two were in the process of becoming part of the exhibition, having ducked under the rope barrier to stand amongst the wax figures.

Both boy's were in fits of giggles as they took it in turn to look up the wax figures robe, and Kevin appeared to have gained a cowboy hat at some point. Their teacher only hoped he could find the wax figure it belonged to himself. He didn't fancy having to explain to a museum official why he couldn't keep track of two children. They wouldn't understand that he was dealing with children who had the combined energy of a hundred cans of red bull.

The youngsters still hadn't noticed they had been discovered and so the teacher silently motioned for the other three kids to block the two possible exits of the exhibit, silently sneaking up behind his rogue students.

"Don't even think of running," were the sinister words Kevin suddenly heard from behind him, and turned horrified to see Mr L bearing down on them.

Shrieking like a little kid, Kevin charged off, yelling at Scott: "Save yourself!" before running smack bang into Avi and Mitch.

"Dead end kid," Mitch told him as he dragged him by the collar back to their teacher.

Scott had also come face to face with Kirstie at the other exit and the two were having a stare off, one which came to an abrupt end when Mr L walked over and picked the startled blond up. "Y'know you two are lucky you're both at the age where people still find you cute, not mentally disturbed."

The youngster wriggled in the young man's arms. "Mr Elllll," he whined, embarrassed by his inability to move. 

"But I am mentally disturbed!" Kevin shouted, "I'm crazy!" and to prove it he started doing a weird combination of the robot and Irish dancing; just a mass of limbs flailing everywhere, making everyone around him jump back a foot from fear of being knocked out.

Kevin's little display earned some looks from other visitors but he was more than used to it by now.  _Let them look,_  his grandpa would always say. They were just jealous they weren't having as much fun as he was.

After threatening to tie them to his own arms, the two reluctantly agreed to keep in Mr L's eyesight at all times for the rest of the day, not that that could stop Kevin from acting like a bull in a china shop.

"Kevin if you move like a human being for the next hour I will buy you something from the gift shop," Mr L eventually said, after the hyper boy had nearly sent a toddler flying.

"Really?" Kevin asked, his interest piqued.  _The old bribery trick I see?_  It was a tactic he was familiar with. His grandparents usually resorted to when they were either among important company or just fed up with his behaviour in general. "Okay then I'll be boring and normal for a bit. Let's go and see the Romans!"

Kirstie wiggled her eyebrows at Mitch, "Oh yeah the Romans. I'd like to see whet they're up to," and the two burst out laughing again like they did in that one history lesson near the start of the year. Kevin still had absolutely no idea what they found so funny and that made him quite annoyed. He liked to know stuff. Especially amusing stuff.

He was about to make some comment to try and rile the other two up into telling him when he heard Mr L ask a question to the blond boy, who had yet to return to the floor. 

"What's the matter Scott?"

Scott dipped his head. "Nothing," the youngster said quietly, before mumbling, "I can be good too."

Kevin saw their teacher's face soften. "Of course I'll get you something also ya little rascal," he promised Scott as he set him back down and ruffled his hair.

"Hey what about me and Kirstie?" Mitch piped up. "And Avi!" he added after a moment.

Mr L turned to the oldest three with a distressed look on his face. "You're telling me you lot want something from a gift shop, from a  _museum_  gift shop?" he asked sarcastically.

"Yeah! Course we do, don't we?" Mitch grinned, his eyes twinkling.

Kirstie backed her friend up. "Yep it's only fair, isn't it Avi?" At the eldest's unsure look towards her, Kirstie sidled up and whispered in his ear. "Isn't it Avi?" He nodded very quickly after that, giving an apologetic look to the young man.

Mr L sighed, defeated, "Fine, presents for everyone! It's alright I don't need to eat this week!" he complained.

Kirstie grinned and wrapped her arms around both boys shoulders. "You love us really Mr L!"

"Yeah," Mitch began batting his eyelids, "look at us. We're so angelic!"

The two walked off chuckling to themselves at how clever they were, pulling Avi in tow with them. The silent boy had the perfect mix of surprise, joy and worry written on his face as he was dragged off. Kevin for one was happy. It felt like everyone in their class was eventually starting to - if not like each other - at least tolerate each one another. 

He turned to call Scott over but caught himself when he saw the youngest talking with their teacher, looking extremely concerned. "Mr L, you won't really have to not eat this week would you? Cos I don't need no present, I was just sayin'." The blond bit his lip as he stared up at the young man and Kevin suddenly realised the weight that Mr L's earlier words must've had on him.

What was an offhand joke for their teacher, was all too much of a reality for the youngest. Even Kevin had picked up by now that Scott was not like most other kids when it came to eating daily meals. While only being two years older, he was about a foot taller than the youngest and a lot broader compared to the boy's skinny frame.

"No, it's fine Scott," Mr L reassured him. "I'll get ya something awesome, alright?" he grinned.

Scott still seemed slightly hesitant but after realising his teacher's grin wasn't going to fade he also smiled. "Awesome," he agreed.

Kevin felt his heart warm at the sight, appreciating how much his teacher really did care about the youngest, about all of them really. People tended to think that because Kevin always seemed to have his head in the clouds - or somewhere else it wasn't supposed to be - that he was oblivious to what was going on around him. To tell the truth it was quite the opposite. He was an incredibly astute and perceptive young boy and picked up on things that most kids would pay no attention to.

For example, he noticed how there always seemed to be one desk further away from the rest. The cleaners wouldn't have left it like that so he could only assume Mr L had moved it so Avi wouldn't have to in the morning. He also noticed how every week the desk seemed to be slightly closer to the others and guessed it his teacher's way of trying to integrate the silent boy into the class more.

He was also aware the other day, on Mitch's first day back, that despite what Mr L had said, the quiz had definitely been a prepared idea. It was too long and too well thought out to have been a last minute rush.

It was the little things he did really, that was turning Mr L into one of Kevin's favourite teacher's he'd ever had and for the rest of the day he tried his absolute best to not be so much of a hassle for the young man.

There was a moment when Kevin felt the need to get rid of his excess energy during lunch, but he had made a promise. Instead, after seeing a clip of Charlie Chaplin appear on the big screen in the restaurant he decided to break out into interpretive song and dance, that way he could entertain himself but be quiet at the same time.

Everyone appeared to enjoy it, even Kirstie and Mitch, especially his routine where he mimed walking a naughty dog. That one actually got a small round of applause from other visitors enjoying their food.

Eventually their time at the museum came to an end and, true to his word, Mr L agreed to buy them each something from the gift shop, providing it was under fifteen dollars.

Mitch picked out an ancient indian art skull; basically a skull decorated in intricate little beads. Kevin decided if was cool if you liked that sort of thing. It was just a bit creepy for him.

"Is that for your cult Mitch?" he joked, almost flinching automatically when he expected the boy to hit him. For once though, Mitch actually laughed at his comment and proceeded to chant some sort of death ritual around the shop, freaking out some of the other customers.

Kevin was dumbstruck. _Mitch laughing at me and acting the clown in public? This has to be a first._

For himself Kevin found a viking game that looked that looked like a much more complicated version of chess, but at least that meant he wouldn't get bored of it after two rounds. He then took to following Scott around as the youngest looked around with awe and wonderment, picking up every item he could reach and putting it back when something more interesting caught his eye. After much debate he finally settled on a volcano making kit, assuring Mr L that his mom wouldn't mind.

Walking over to Kirstie he saw that she was trying on a number of silver bracelets with squiggly writing down the side, like the kind of stuff from Lord of the Rings.

"What's that?" he asked, pointing to the inscriptions.

"Shakespeare."

"You don't like Shakespeare," he tried to be helpful and point out.

The girl turned to him. "What makes you say that?"

"Umm..." Kevin didn't have a reply for once. "It's just that y'know," he mumbled, not wanting to anger Kirstie.

Luckily for him, she just took it on the chin. "I guess I don't really advertise myself as a fan of the arts, but every now and then Kevin, a girl just wants to sneak her way into the theatre to hear the lines: 'The course of true love never did run smooth'" she said, finishing the well known quote with a flourish of her hands and giving him a little bow.

Kevin knew that line. "A Midsummer Night's Dream," he stated, and Kirstie smiled.

"Of course you knew that you genius...I think I'm going with this one," she decided, and strutted off to find their teacher, the bracelet still on her wrist.

Looking around for the oldest, he spied Avi standing still in the toy section watching a mechanical dinosaur walk around on the table. Kevin went to join him, mainly to be nosy about what the silent teen had picked out for his gift, but also to give him some company. When he got there however, he realised the boy had yet to choose anything.

"What are you going with Avi?" he asked.

Avi just shrugged and shook his head slightly.

"You mean you don't know or you don't want anything?"

The older boy just repeated the same gesture.  _Okay, well you're gonna have to give me more than that._

He looked around for inspiration, and seeing as they were in the kids section there was nothing really suitable for a seventeen year old close to hand. "What about this Avi?" he held up a pink fluffy whale from the massive toy basket filled with stuff animals. Avi did not seem impressed.

"Or this?" Kevin found a rubber duck dressed as a Greek god. Avi had no comment.

"What about this?" he asked, showing the teen a little Chinese cat that did the waving it's paw thing. Avi pretty much looked at it with disgust. Unfortunately for him, Kevin had just seen what he perceived to be the perfect gift.

"Hold up, I've seen the one," he dashed away and grabbed something off a shelf, returning to Avi excitedly. "C'mon! I'll help you put it on," he said, reaching up to pull the poor boy's shoulders down so he could but the dragon beanie on Avi's head.

Avi made no resistance but his face said it all. On the other hand Kevin was unsuspecting as he admired his fashion choice for the older boy. 

"Aww! He looks so cute, doesn't he?" he gushed at Kirstie as she came over to see what was taking so long.

Smirking a bit at the image of Avi looking like a grumpy five-foot-ten toddler and Kevin like a proud parent, she had to agree "Yeah, he does," and she reached up to straighten the hat a little, giving Kevin a pat on the shoulder as she walked back shouting at them that if they'd finished playing dress-up Mr L wanted to go.

After she was out of earshot, Avi and Kevin glanced in sync at each other, the latter grinning like the cheshire cat. "Ooh! I think she likes you," he gave the older boy a poke, which the older boy responded to by dramatically flinching and turning bright red as he turned back to watch Kirstie.

Kevin followed his gaze and a random theory popped into his mind. "Hey...you like her too don't you! I can see your red cheeks!" The further blushing was all the reply Kevin needed. "Don't worry I won't say anything," he told Avi, but was then unable to stop himself from adding: "You should ask her out, no wait, you should write her a pretty love poem! She likes Shakespeare y'know, it could like Dearest Kirstie, my heart his aching to be with you–"

Unfortunately his little monologue was cut short when Avi responded by pushing him into the toy basket.


	14. Uniform

_So many people are shut up tight inside themselves like boxes, yet they would open up, unfolding quite wonderfully, if only you were interested in them. - Sylvia Plath_

**Tuesday 3rd December**

After having taught Avi almost three months now, there were a few things about the boy that Jeremy had picked up on. One: He always wore the exact same clothes - no matter the weather, no matter the day, the boy always wore the same shirt, same style sweater, same jeans, same black shiny shoes. It was as if he was some sort of cartoon character with his repetitive signature outfit.

Two: He was perhaps the most polite young man Jeremy had ever met. A true gentleman. Opening doors, helping Jeremy tidy up, always lending the others something if they needed it, it was like that was all just second nature to him.

And three: Well three, he was not happy. Jeremy had no evidence to back this up but he was almost certain that Avi was not a happy kid. He figured none of his students were happy in the purest sense of the word, otherwise they wouldn't be with him in the first place, but they all seemed to have their mood swings depending on how much shit was going on in their lives at the time. 

With Avi though, it was as if there were a constant black cloud floating above his head, following him wherever he went. The only strong emotion he'd noticed on Avi's face other than the usual blankness was embarrassment, usually when people asked him too many direct questions. Sure there had been times when he had seen a smirk creep onto the boy's face when one of the other kids were acting extremely ridiculous, but it was always guarded, always ready to vanish at the snap of a finger.

The morning break bell went off, bringing him out of his contemplative state and Mitch and Kevin were gone from the room as if their lives depended on it, both handing over their finished geography worksheets to Jeremy as they passed.

As usual, Scott stayed behind a bit longer to try and finish his own work and Avi obviously rarely left. Before she left also, Kirstie had wandered over to the quiet boy, sitting herself on his desk. Jeremy did contemplate going over to rescue Avi who looked like he might have a heart attack but thought  _'Ah, to hell with it. It'll do him some good!'_

Kirstie leaned towards the boy, one perfect eyebrow raised. "You know as much as I love black and navy, I am getting sick of the sight of seeing you in it every fucking day," she told him, waving her hands in front of his outfit.

Avi looked down at his clothes and then back up at the girl, confusion written across his face. Kirstie sighed, "Surely that can't be all you wear." Avi only nodded hesitantly.

Kirstie leaned even closer to his face until they were only inches apart. "What's your secret Avi? You come screaming out of the womb in a sweater and neatly combed hair," she whispered into his startled eyes.

"Sometimes I swear you've never seen a girl before. Do you get this nervous around all females? Do you have to hide from your own mommy when she comes to tuck you in goodnight?" She interrogated, getting even closer to his face until they were almost touching and Avi looked like he might pass out.

"Hey, pick on someone your own size," a voice threatened from behind Kirstie.

Spinning round...and then looking down, she saw Scott standing there with his little arms crossed trying to look as intimidating as possible. He was about as scary as six labrador puppies.

The taller girl leered down at him. "Like you? Wait...that made no sense at all." She shook her head with a roll of her eyes, and turned back to Avi, picking a bit of fluff off his sweater. "See ya round big boy," she whispered, before strolling off to collect her own stuff.

Jeremy could see that Avi had literally squirming under her attention.  _Poor kid._  From what he'd heard half the guys in Kirstie's year were constantly fawning over her, desperate to be her girlfriend.  _Trust the two she pays the most attention to are gay and - for all intensive purposes - a mute._

Still looking like death warmed up, Avi flinched when the little boy gave a small poke on his shoulder and looked across to see Scott standing next to his chair.

"Are you okay Avi?" he asked quietly, and the oldest boy barely managed a nod in reply.

Scott shifted from foot to foot. "Do you want a hug?" he suddenly asked, wrapping his arms around the oldest boy's neck before he had a chance to reply. Jeremy held his breath; Avi who usually jumped at the mere pat on the shoulder seemed completely lost in how to react to the normal human interaction, but in his own time hesitantly raised his hand to the youngsters blond hair, returning the hug in his own kind of way. 

Scott let go and, with Avi still being seated, was able to look him directly in the eye. "You don't need to be scared of her. She acts all big and scary but she can be really nice too!" he told him, meaning every word of it.

Avi gave him a half smile, still clearly a bit unnerved and Scott couldn't really think of anything else to say. "Okay then...I'm gonna see what Mitchy's up to. You wanna come?" he asked hopefully but Avi shook his head and motioned his throat being slit, reminding Scott that outside at lunch break was not the safest of places for him.

Reluctantly, Scott left the room to Avi and Jeremy, handing over his own work before going. Jeremy was impressed. The kid was getting better and better at finishing his work on time, and his marks were improving, albeit slowly, over time.

Now that the class had emptied, Jeremy went over to speak with Avi. There were a few things he had to try and straighten out with the kid.

"Girls, eh Avi?" he said, pulling up a chair beside the teen. Avi looked at him as if to say  _'not more conversation'._

Jeremy smiled at him. "Forgive me if you find this rude, but is this really your choice?" he asked, referring to his dress sense. "Not that there's anything wrong with it," he quickly held up his hands apologetically, "it's just I thought maybe you'd want to mix it up now and then." Avi gave nothing away, but Jeremy's teacher senses were telling him what he was saying wasn't far from the truth.

"You know this school doesn't have a uniform policy. I'm not lying, there's not even guidelines or anything! To be honest I'm surprised people don't try and push the boundaries of school clothing more. What do you think?" he asked, smirking at Avi. "Why don't next week you dye your hair purple and come in wearing a reindeer onesie. And then, if any teacher challenges you, you can claim you're just getting ready for Christmas."

He laughed and saw the boy's face relax a bit, even if he didn't smile himself.

Putting his serious face back on, he gently told the kid, "What I'm trying to say Avi is this: there's no reason for you to wear the same thing everyday unless it's entirely your choice, which I would respect, but...don't be afraid to try something different every once in a while."

Avi gave a small huff, but eventually turned to him and gave a tiny nod. Whether he was agreeing with Jeremy because he agreed with him or just wanted his teacher to go away was unclear, but Jeremy felt better knowing he'd made his point clear.

"Oh and don't take what Kirstie said to heart Avi. I'm sure she was just trying to tell you the same thing, in her own, y'know, weird little way," he let the boy know, standing up and giving him his own space by walking back to his desk.

He had never expected to come into teaching and talk to kids about clothing. At least he never thought it would be to try and encourage a kid to be a bit more wild with their style. But the way Avi always dressed just didn't sit right with him.

You could argue that Kevin always wore the same  _sort_  of thing but it always seemed to at least be a different colour shirt and different styled snapback every day. Even Scott, who only seemed to own about ten items of clothing, managed to switch between a t-shirt and shorts or jeans and a hoodie depending on the weather. No, there was absolutely no way Avi could love his clothes that much to wear them as a second skin.

For one thing, wearing the same clothes every day was totally impractical. It was all very well now, but what about in the summer? Was he still going to turn up in the same old outfit?

And clothes was only the most obvious factor about the kid which sent an uneasy feeling up Jeremy's spine. So much about the boy was a mystery. All he knew about him was what was in the school records. This was his fifth school. He'd been to three private elementary and middle schools, one other high school and finally ended up here, but his address had remained the same. Could it really be bullying that sent him around the city? Or was there something else?

He knew it was none of his business, that his duty of care of a teacher was within these four walls, but as a human being, Jeremy couldn't let the idea that there was something more than bullying going on in this boy's life rest.

With a quick glance up at Avi to make sure he wasn't watching, he opened his files and flicked through the copies of permission slips for the museum trip last Wednesday. There was Avi's. And who had signed it? A Mr Abbott Kaplan. Now wait.  _I swear I've heard that name somewhere before._  He couldn't quite place his finger on it though.

Well, he had a few hours free at the weekend. It was time to do some digging.


	15. Someone To Fill My Silence

_Life is worth living as long as there's a laugh in it. - L.M. Montgomery, Anne of Green Gables_

**Thursday 12th December**

_I have never met someone who is so consistently noisy, and I've been to dinner with some of the city's biggest businessmen. And men in business love to talk about themselves._

Mr L had split them into groups to work on their algebra. Kirstie and Mitch were doing intermediate level questions while Avi had been paired with Kevin working on more advanced formulas. Scott wasn't required to learn algebra yet so had an hour of "free study", which apparently meant "practice my circus routine".

"Is this awesome?" Scott asked Mitch for the fifteenth time, as he clumsily cartwheeled across the room.

"Yes." Mitch replied patiently, although his confirmations were becoming significantly less and less enthusiastic by the minute.

Kevin meanwhile was chatting to Avi at about a thousand words per minute. "Y'know I like hanging out with you," he told the older boy. "I mean I like hanging out with Scott too, he's my best friend in here I guess, but we both like talking a lot so we get into trouble a lot."  _You're telling me._  "But you just listen," he said, smiling at him, and then narrowing his eyes when he thought of something. "Or are you just pretending?"

Avi smiled and shook his head. "Okay good, cos y'know I'd feel a bit stupid if you weren't."

_Does it really matter? It's not like you'd ever know any different._

"So, have you worked out how you're gonna ask Kirstie out yet?" Kevin questioned him, giving Avi a knowing grin.

_I really wish there was another toy basket around for me to push you into._

"I mean, I would do it for you, but I think she's more of a girl who likes her guys, y'know, more..." Kevin pulled a face, "capable?"

Avi gave Kevin his best unimpressed face.  _Great, even an eleven year old has no faith in me._

Kevin sighed. "Y'know dude, you're really gonna have to learn sign language or something cos this whole," he imitated Avi's expression, "isn't enough to have a normal civilised conversation, you get me?"

Avi rolled his eyes, holding his hands up in his defence,  _I'm not gonna start carrying around a chalk board or anything Kevin._

The younger boy just ignored him, telling him, "Yo if you do decide to start talking and find yourself outta practice, I mean I'm assuming it's been a while right?" Avi confirmed this guess. "Right. So you come to me and I'll help get your flow back man! Trust me, I can talk about anything and everything. You wanna talk baseball, I say Babe Ruth was the man y'know! You wanna talk movies, I got a card as a birthday present that lets me in for free. I must've seen about fifty films last year, like one a week y'know what I'm sayin'?"

Avi nodded that yes he did know, although it was more to get Kevin off his back.  _I like him, but all this talk is kind of silly. On the other hand, at least he's someone who can fill my silence. Too many people are quiet around me because I'm quiet, which can get really awkward. Then again, I guess there aren't that many people who are happy talking to a statue._

Kevin scribbled some more answers out, nearly at the bottom of his page, when his dark eyes lit up as an idea popped into his head. "Hey, how about we play a game while we finish this work, to drag it out y'know, otherwise I'm gonna be done in five minutes and then I'll get bored and then I'll get  _really_  annoying and then Mr L will get  _super mad_."

He nudged Avi's elbow, causing Avi to draw a line across his page. "Oops, sorry," the younger boy apologised when he glared at him, "Anyway, what you say? You down?"

_I really want to say no. I really really want to say no. Oh, now he's trying the puppy dog face. Ha that only works with Scotty...crap it's working._

The delighted look on the boy's face when Avi agreed was almost enough to make up for what he was expecting to be subjected to. Almost.

"Okay here it is: I ask you twenty yes or no questions and then you answer them! It's meant to work the other way too but seeing as only one of us is gonna be talking I guess I'll just do the asking. That cool? That doesn't count as one by the way."

Avi took a deep breath and gestured for Kevin to start.  _Please don't let this be too uncomfortable._

"Okay, ye-ye-yeah! Here we go!"

The boy's shouting caused Mr L to look up from where he was helping the other two. "Kevin that doesn't sound like much work is going on," he warned.

"Sorry Mr L. I'm just really excited about this algebra y'know."

Avi rolled his eyes.  _The stuff he comes out with. He and Scott should start a stand-up act._

"Okay one," Kevin held up a finger to keep count, "do you have any pets?"

Avi shook his head no.  _Alright that's an easy start. My father hates animals even more than he hates humans._

"Aw, I have a goldfish named Tiny. Aren't goldfish great? They're like everybody's first pet."

_I guess that's kind of true. Never really seen the appeal myself. They're not exactly what you'd call good company._

"Okay next, do you live in the inner city?"

Another shake of his head answered that question.  _Nope. No plans to either. I mean I'd rather live anywhere else than where I do now but the inner city is just so...cramped._

"No I didn't think so. You must come pretty far then," Kevin determined. "Can you drive?" Once more a shake.

 _Jeez, he's gonna think I'm the most boring person in the world._  "That's a shame I was gonna ask you to drive me to the football game on Sunday, my grandpa has a doctor's appointment and my grandma is working."

_Oh yeah, I forgot you only lived with them...sad. You seem happy enough though._

"Do you like football?" _Ha, one thing a can say yes to!_  Avi nodded his head perhaps slightly too vigorously, as he felt a bit light headed afterwards.

"Cool! Maybe we can go see a game one day," Kevin proclaimed ecstatically.

_Oh kid, you have no idea how much I'd like that._

"Okay I got a good one. Do you talk at home?" Avi froze. These were the questions I was afraid of. He just tilted his head side to side, pulling his mouth into a slight grimace. Kevin looked confused. 

"What's that mean?"

Avi had nothing else to say.  _How do I explain to him that I do talk at home, but only when my father really demands it, and even then it's a risky business._

"Well have you always not talked?" Avi shook his head.  _I was born with a tongue you know. I'm not a mute. Although I can hardly blame you for asking that._  "Oh, I wonder why you stopped..." Kevin pondered.

_You really don't want to know kid._

Kevin was quiet for a bit, long enough to finish the rest of his questions.  _I see the whole idea of playing this game hasn't worked out for you then. I wonder what it's like to be such a genius?_

"Umm have you ever been camping?" Kevin asked, going back to the easier questions, and Avi once again was back to shaking his head for negative.

"Nah, me neither. I kinda want to though, it'd be nice to feel free y'know, not so many people around to judge you when you go crazy. I guess you don't really have that problem though."

_Believe me, it only takes one person who can make my life hell. I'd happily live in the wild if it meant I never had to set eyes on him again. He'd track me down somehow though. I'm not getting away that easy. Probably wouldn't last very long anyway._

"Do you like pizza?" Another question which Avi could nod his head rapidly to and Kevin laughed at his eager response. "Alright! I see we got a fan here! You and me are gonna get along just fine," he told him, patting the older boy on the back, and for once Avi didn't flinch.

Kevin flicked his eyes to his hands to check what question he was at, and looked back to Avi with a hopeful expression. "Nine, would you like to come to my house for pizza one day. My grandpa makes the best!"

_Well I maybe could one day, if my dad has to spend the night at a hotel. But does he really want me there or is he just saying it to be polite?_

One look at Kevin's earnest face told him that the boy was actually being honest. He wasn't the kind of kid to tell tales anyway. Avi let him know he'd be open to that idea.

"Awesome, I'll have to ask the others too," Kevin replied gleefully. "Hey that could be like a kind of date for you and Kirstie," he winked at the teen.

_And we're back to this again. Why do my cheeks have to always turn bright red? I don't even fancy her...well, that's not completely true. What guy wouldn't say they had a small crush on the girl. She was freaking beautiful. But that was the problem. All girls steer clear of me, let alone a girl like her, and she obviously thinks I'm a freak who wears the same dumb clothes every fucking day._

Kevin leaned closer to him. "Okay this is important. Have you ever kissed a girl?" he whispered in his ear.

_Oh these questions just get better and better! No I have not! I didn't even get the chance to kiss my mom on the cheek seeing as I killed her the moment I entered the world!_

Luckily, Avi didn't have the chance to reply to that particular line of interrogation as, all of a sudden, a familiar voice called out, "Oh you better watch out!" and Kevin turned startled, thinking Scott was fighting with someone.

However everything was soon made clear when Mitch sang the next line, "You better not cry."

Even Kirstie got in on the act, singing "You better not pout, I'm telling you why," in a beautiful melodic voice.

"Santa Claus is coming to town!" all three sang at once, and Kevin knew it was his time to shine next.

"He's making a list and checking it twice!" the hyper boy bellowed out.

Mr L came up to the two of them, placing a hand on both boys shoulders, "He's gonna find out who's naughty and nice," he sang, shaking Kevin first and then Avi.

"Santa Claus is coming to town!"

They all started singing at the top of their voices, and the other kids started doing weird dances that had Mr L almost crying with laughter.

_I've never seen all of them like this before! That's the spirit of Christmas I guess._

And then something built up within Avi. With all the emotions Kevin's line of questioning had brought to him and the current scene happening before him there was a strange sensation building up in his chest, and before he could do anything to stop himself, it was released into the room.

"Avi?" Mr L queried, his mouth open in shock.

_Oh shit! What did I just do?_

Kevin started bouncing up and down in happiness, "Avi laughed!" he shouted at the others.

"Yeah, he laughed. I heard it, it was awesome!" Scott said, grinning at Avi in pure delight.

_I laughed. I haven't laughed in...I can't remember the last time. Holy fuck, I laughed. Oh crap, what's gonna happen to me now?_

Even though he knew none of these people were his father his natural instinct was to cower. Laughing was even worse than talking. He was pretty sure the last time he had laughed in front of his father, maybe when he was twelve, he had ended up with a few broken ribs.

_At the very least they're gonna mock me. And just when I was starting to be tolerated by them._

While the others were still crowded around him excitedly telling each other about the noise they had heard, Kirstie just stood in front of him, arms folded. "Well I missed it..." she complained, "right, that's it! It's mission make Avi laugh! Y'know you've got to be funny if he thinks you are," she told everyone.

Mr L gave her a long, hard look, and checked his watch. Then he smiled at Avi, "Yeah...alright everyone, this will be your stage," he pulled a few desks out of the way to make a space in the middle of the room. "Now show me and Avi what you've got!" and he took a seat beside the embarrassed boy. "We're like the judges on America's got talent," he told him.

_I am very confused._

He was. He had made a sound and hadn't been beaten or verbally abused for it. It was almost like a dream. He had been expecting some kind of harsh rebuke, but no, he was getting a fucking personal entertainment show?

And it was hilarious. Especially the point when Kevin began making up his own terrible jokes. Such as 'What's a fish with no eyes? Dead' or 'What do you call two circles next to each other? A butt'. The jokes were so bad they were hilarious, and Avi found himself smiling widely throughout the show. He managed to stop any laughter from seeping out though. He was still in shock from the first time anyway.

Then Kevin ruined that. Yep, Kevin, in his innocent mind, thought of another joke.

"What did the fan say to the hair dryer?"

"What?" everyone asked, wondering what dumb answer he'd have this time.

"Why don't we blow each other!" he answered proudly.

Avi had no choice but to laugh then. He laughed so hard he didn't think he would stop. And the best thing was everyone else was laughing so hard, that him laughing wasn't so big of a deal. He was just like one of them. It felt natural. He almost felt normal.

Kevin looked incredulously around at the others dying in their chairs or on the floor.

"Huh? You crazy lot really liked that one then."

Avi just hoped he wouldn't try it out on his grandparents again that evening.


	16. Home Alone

_It is very sad to see children live like orphans while their parents are still alive. After all, children need the constant love of parents. - Gugu Mona_

**Tuesday 24th December**

_"Another girl at school is pregnant, and she's only fourteen and the dad is only thirteen!" Scott chatted to his mom as he followed her around the kitchen wrapped in a huge towel, leaving a trail of wet footprints across the floor. With his mom being home early in the evening for once it meant she actually made him have a shower. Usually he would just forget or not bother until someone told him he smelled._

_The young woman smiled down her son, who's blond hair was still dripping down his forehead, as she got out the ingredients for an omelette. "Never do what they did sweetheart," she said to him._

_Scott paused in his tracks, and then gave his mom a cheeky grin "I'm gonna do it!" he informed her proudly._

_His mom gasped loudly, "You are?" she said, trying to sound shocked but unable to stop the bemused smirk forming on her lips. "Uh oh, someone's getting homeschooled," she told him, picking the bundle of towel up and placing him on the stool, giving his damp hair a kiss._

That meal had been the last time he'd had a proper conversation with his mom. She'd told him that the next few days were going to be extremely busy for her and that he might not see much of her. When he'd asked why, she told him that she needed to do extra work so she could be home all day on Christmas. Scott had grumbled at that but accepted it if it meant he wouldn't have a lonely Christmas.

Last year it had just been him and his middle sister, back when she actually lived mostly at home. It had been weeks since they last saw her, and all she wanted was money they didn't have. The fifteen year old had left in a rage, claiming she never wanted to see either of them ever again. So now both of his sisters had run off and left his mom in tears twice. He could never dream of leaving his mom. Sure he knew she was far from perfect, but he also knew she loved him more than anything else in the world.

Still, that wasn't to say he didn't hate her sometimes when she always left him. After finishing dinner, they'd gone to bed at around nine and by the time he woke up she was gone. Now a few nights later, he was sitting on their mattress, trying to keep his mind off things by making up songs in his head.

Outside his window he could see various Christmas decorations hanging outside other people's windows in the tower block opposite his.

_I bet they have Christmas trees has well. And I bet the kids get visits from Santa too._

His mom had always told him Santa couldn't get to their apartment because there was no chimney for him to go down. When he'd asked why Santa didn't just use the window or the stairs, his dad would tell him it was because Santa was scared of getting shot by The Strikers. But Scott knew the real reason anyway since his middle sister had told him when he was four, after she found out the truth herself, but Scott had kept up the pretence because his mom still clearly enjoyed thinking he was none the wiser. She wasn't around to enjoy anything now though. He'd probably have to break the bad news to her one day.

_What age do most kids find out?_

He was pretty sure Kevin knew by now. It would be hard to keep it from an eleven year old. Especially an eleven year old as smart as Kevin. Then again he could never be so sure with the older boy. He wasn't from the school of hard knocks like him, Kirstie and, even though he was a more recent graduate, Mitch. He still had that innocence that Scott knew he himself had lost a long time ago.

He wondered what his friend was up to right now. Probably lying awake in his room, excited for the next day. Scott had thought about going to visit them over the holidays, but didn't want to be rude. This was their family time after all and he was already over at Kevin's house every other day after school, playing video games or having wrestling matches in their back garden. He very rarely stayed for dinner though, always leaving for home just in case his mom came home early.

He paused in his train of thought and tilted his head in concentration. Somewhere in the tower someone was getting hurt. He could hear screams, and not the kind people made when they were having sex.

_Wait for it...wait for it..._

The echo of a gunshot blasted around the apartments. He could hear people begin to shout at least three floors above him.

_Good. That means I'm too far away for the cops to bother knocking on our door._

He wasn't a cold hearted child at all. But shootings were an all too common event in his life, and after a while he just kind of grew numb to them. Kirstie was the only one who could understand that at school. When the two of them would be talking about who'd recently been killed Mitch would just stare at them in absolute disbelief, as they talked about murder like he might have talked about the weather.

Scott thought about what those two would be up to tomorrow. No doubt Kirstie would not be celebrating Christmas in the traditional sense of the word, but at least she would be surrounded by her massive crime loving family. That and she had money; she could go and do other stuff if she wanted. He had thought about visiting her too but quickly dismissed the idea as stupid. She probably wouldn't be too pleased to see him and it was dangerous for someone like him to venture to the East Rises.

In the mainly black and latino tower blocks, a blond haired, blue eyed child would be sure to raise suspicion. Unlike the West Rises, while predominantly home to Russians and other european immigrants like Scott's own great-grandparents had been, there was pretty much someone to represent every nationality. There had also been an influx of Chinese families recently, who Michael didn't like because he said they ate dogs. Scott had never actually seen any of them eating a dog and knew a lot of what Michael said was a load of shit, but he still kept up his guard around them for now.

As for what Mitch would be up to; he was hopefully going to have a few days of normal-ness. Apparently the lady he'd been speaking to at the hospital had persuaded him to reach out to other family members and ask for help, and after much persuasion he had contacted his mom's older sister to tell her of the troubles they were having.

Mitch had told Scott he'd been unsure how his plea for help would be received by the woman: from all the tales his mom had told him, he had been given the impression she was a bossy and judgemental woman. Maybe that was the case for his mom, but when she had heard of what her young nephew had been going through she demanded they visit as often as possible. And that included staying at hers for the Christmas holidays.

Apparently his mom hated it but at least it gave someone else for Mitchy to talk to, and it meant that he didn't have to act the adult all the time with the cooking and cleaning. The older boy told Scott that the one time he had cleaned up the kitchen, his Aunt had a heart attack and gave him thirty dollars for his hard work. She was so used to his cousins teenage laziness, that having Mitch around was a breath of fresh air.

So it seemed that sweet-talking Mitch into entering that programme deserved a well done on Scott's part. There were improvements, very slow ones, but improvements all the same in the older boy's manner and general disposition ever since he had begun attending.

He wished the same could be said for him. Mr L had taken him to the growing lady and she'd just noted his height and weight and sent him off with a meal plan to give to his mother. She said if they followed that diet properly, then he had at least eight inches of growing room in him. Scott didn't like the look of all the vegetables on the plan and his mom had taken one look at the thing and thrown it in the bin, saying that the lady should try buying the crap as well as prescribing it.

Out of all his friends at school Avi was the only person Scott could think of who might be as lonely as he was right now. No one, including him, had any clue as to what the oldest boy would be getting up to over the holidays. Scott wondered what Christmas was like for someone who had been terrified at laughing in front of other people. Was he that nervous around his own family? Did they not like him to laugh or something?  _Cos if they don't, that's a pretty dumb rule._

The young boy laid back against the wall and listened to Michael smoke pot on the other side. He always knew the guy was smoking weed when he could hear him exclaiming that he had too many chairs in his apartment.

_I guess I could go and see if he wants any company...oh no wait, he's already got a girl there._

He moved away from the wall again when the unmistakable thumping sounds started, and really wished his mom was with him. This was the third night in a row he'd been left on his own. There were scary and gross sounds coming from all the apartments around him and he could swear the shadows on the walls were coming for him.

"Mommy, come home," he whispered. He knew he was getting anxious if he resorted to calling her that. She had been just 'mom' for at least two years. He was a big boy now after all.

Eventually the noise and the dark and mainly the loneliness all became too much for the nine year old and he fetched his old coat. He wanted to go somewhere he'd feel safer and he didn't trust the lock on the door if a crackhead really wanted to get in. He knew that a lot of tourists hung around 8th Avenue, maybe he could just spend away the night there. 

 _Yeah, I can just pretend I'm on vacation in my own city. It'll be an adventure._  He talked himself into leaving, almost certain his mom wasn't coming home this night either.

Checking to make sure the hall was safe before venturing out, he quietly made his way to the stairs. There was no way he was risking taking the finally fixed elevator - it was too easy to get trapped in there. A few people high on whatever went to grab at him on the stairwell but a swift kick was enough to keep them at bay.

He took the subway to 8th Avenue, hopping the ticket barrier with a practiced ease, and exited the station into a world full of people laughing, music blaring and Christmas lights flashing.

 _This is the side of my city I never usually see,_  he realised, as he stared around at everyone drinking and "being merry".

If anyone asked he'd say his mom was waiting for him at the next bus stop, or that his mom was just in that building over there, or that his dad had sent him to buy food. Everyone always believed him. A child his age wouldn't be out at midnight on his own.

He walked some way up the street and discovered there was some sort of circus street performers group in the main square. In the same square there was a Christmas tree taller than any Scott had ever seen.

_That's like twenty Mr L's stood on top of each other!_

Clambering up onto one of the statues he was able to get a good view of the jugglers, fire breathers and one lady who just walked everywhere on her hands.

 _I suppose there could be worse way to spend Christmas Eve._ He quickly pulled his legs up as two drunk men fell into the statue and started singing Taylor Swift songs at the top of their voices.

 _Oh yay...I get a music concert too_ , he wrinkled his nose as the stench of alcohol burnt his nostrils.

The little blond watched wide eyed as the juggler started throwing about five machetes in the air. 

_Woah, that's pretty awesome._

Nevertheless, it was going to have to be one awesome Christmas tomorrow to make up for all the time his mom had to be apart from him.


	17. New Year, New Look

_New Year - a new chapter, new verse, or just the same old story ? Ultimately we write it. The choice is ours. - Alex Morritt, Impromptu Scribe_

**Wednesday 2nd January**

_Right. My peaceful time is over._

The morning bell went and Jeremy rushed to put away his snacks into his drawer. Let's just say his New Year's resolution of eating healthier was not off to a great start.

All in all he'd had a good Christmas, spending time at his childhood home with his mom, step-dad, and older brother and his family, which included one-year old twins, Sammy and Lacey, who just kept saying the word banana all holiday.

His mom had asked him everything about his students and already decided that she wanted to adopt Scott and Mitch. She had also shot down his idea of maybe quitting if a better job came up, telling him he should at least finish the first year; that he owed the kids that much, as he was probably the one consistency in their confusing and tumultuous lives.

Jeremy also had to admit that he did find himself missing those kids over the break, something he never expected happening, and when he had arrived back at school two days earlier there was something about being back in that tiny classroom that gave him a strange sense of comfort.

It was the kids first day back today, and surprisingly Avi had not turned up early for once. Jeremy didn't know if he should be worried or not. Maybe the kid had been cornered by the school bullies somewhere and was being beaten up. He was pondering whether he was supposed to go and search for the teen but luckily it turned out there was no need as the boy walked in about two minutes after Kevin.

At first, Jeremy actually thought a student had walked into the wrong class. But after a double take he realised it was his quiet teen. The reason he hadn't recognised him to start with was because this boy looked almost nothing like the Avi he was used to.

This Avi had ditched the sweater, white shirt and shiny shoes look for a checked shirt, leather jacket and lace-up boots, and to top it all off, his usually neatly combed hair was hidden under a black beanie.

"Avi?"

The boy turned to him, an unreadable expression on his face.

_Well at least that hasn't changed._

Not really having much to say Jeremy just settled for a simple: "You look good."

Avi nodded a few times in appreciation and gave him a half smile.

"Were they a Christmas present?"

The boy replied with a mix of shaking and nodding his head, leaving it unclear to Jeremy what the actual answer was. The boy sat himself down, not bothering to move his desk further away and the young teacher felt his heart swell with pride.

_Maybe this is a break through with him._

He had done some snooping over the holidays and found out where he recognised the name Abbott Kaplan from. His Avi was none other than the son of one of the most wealthy businessmen in not just the city, but the state. After a lot of googling Jeremy was able to paint a vague picture of the boy's home life. His mom had died in child birth and his father had never remarried. They lived on the outskirts of the city, in area called Bentree Heights, a neighbourhood primarily home to celebrities or CEO's like Avi's father.

There was not much else Jeremy could find out without breaking the law but he had seen a few photos of Avi out with his father at important events, and the boy looked even more nervous than he did in class. It was most likely because he was surrounded by a lot of important people, but still, there was something that didn't fit right with Jeremy. The boy was never smiling in any of the photos, and he was always in the background, like he was the designated shadow of his father.

"Wow! Sweet jacket Avi!" Kevin complimented as soon as he emerged from the storage cupboard.

_What is it with these kids and going in that cupboard?_

He was pretty certain Mitch and Kirstie went in there sometimes to fix their hair or do their nails but had no clue what was so interesting for Kevin and Scott in the box room.

Kirstie swaggered in not long after - her arrival time had been greatly improving too - swinging a new, white, expensive looking hand bag by her side.

Her pride was quickly cut short however, when Mitch entered five minutes later with the same bag, only in black.

The young girl stared open mouthed at the younger teen. "That's not yours," she said in disbelief.

Mitch took one look at her surprised face and rolled his eyes, "Um, well it is, so there's that...", sarcasm dripping from his lips.

"But, how, wh–" Kirstie for once, was at a loss for words.

"How did someone like me get a two hundred dollar bag for Christmas? Wouldn't you love to know," the boy winked at her. "My Aunt bought it for me," Mitch told her anyway, before looking a bit bashful and admitting, "I got her oven gloves!"

Kirstie shook her head like she couldn't believe what had happened. "Return it. Get a different one," she demanded.

"I can't return it! It was a gift!"

"So was mine!"

"Oh yeah? From who?"

"Myself..."

Jeremy didn't bother breaking up their little argument, trusting the two to settle it between themselves, and in the end a joint shopping trip was decided to try and see if there was another bag the other would go for.

_And I thought my mom was fussy when it came to hand bags._

After their little debate they both turned to gawk at Avi's new look and Kirstie made the boy blush once more when she told him she could take him out now without being embarrassed. Now all that was missing was a certain nine year old and then his little class of horrors would be complete once more.

Scott eventually rocked up nearly an hour and a half late, looking like he was going on a expedition to the North Pole, with his hood up covering his forehead and his coat zip done all the way up to his nose.

"M'sorry I'm late," he mumbled, dragging his feet to his desk. He gave the others a "Sup guys" which lacked all it's usual vigour and energy and flopped down in his chair, not bothering to take off his coat, even though the one good thing about the broken air con meant the class was warm even in the chilly weather.

"Hey Scotty," they replied or "Hey little rat," if you were called Kirstie Maldonado.

They all turned to Jeremy with concerned faces, clearly expecting him to do something.

_Why are you all looking at me? Oh yeah, that's right, I'm the teacher._

"Carry on with your work," the teacher instructed the others as he made his way over to his youngest.

"Hey kiddo. What's up?" he whispered, crouching down beside the hooded figure.

"The s–"

"The sky," Jeremy beat the boy to his punchline.

He bent forward to try and get a look at Scott's face. "Rough Christmas?" he asked gently.

The kid sighed. "Christmas Day was awesome...I got...well I didn't really get anything but my mom was home all day like she promised."

"You didn't get anything?"

"Nope." Scott replied as if he didn't care at all. "But that's okay, my mom bought turkey and we made that volcano thing you got for me. It went everywhere!" he laughed slightly, finally turning to look at the young man. "Thank you for that again Mr L. That was one of the coolest things anyone's ever done for me," he told him earnestly.

Jeremy was touched. It was rare a cheap fifteen dollar gift could make a little boy's Christmas.

"You're welcome Scott. Now how about you take your coat off?"

The blond complied and Jeremy gave him a mini English quiz to complete. As he got up, leaving Scott to get on with his work, he saw Kirstie heading his way. When raising an eyebrow in question to what she was planning, the girl just mouthed at him "one minute" pointing to Scott and he gave her the benefit of the doubt that she was not up to mischief.

She came over and pulled up a chair next to the blond, shooing Jeremy away.

_Ha, charming. No worries. I can eavesdrop at my own desk. This class isn't big enough to have completely private conversations._

He couldn't hear everything being said, but got the basics.

First Kirstie leaned close into Scott's ear. "I saw you last night," she told him.

"Wha–?"

"What were doing all by yourself? You of  _all people_  know there are psychos out there who would love to take you home with them."

_By himself where?_

"Yeah I'm not an idiot Kit Kat. I was just bored okay?"

"Oh you were bored were you? I'm pretty sure Kevin gets more bored than you and I don't see him roaming the streets at midnight."

_He was in the streets? Which streets? At midnight? On his own? Does this make me very concerned? Yes._

Jeremy didn't like the sound of that one bit.

"What were  _you_  doing out there?" Scott tried to flip the conversation around.

"Family errand," Kirstie answered curtly. "Don't worry I won't say anything, just be careful okay?"

The blond nodded and Kirstie let him be. Scott didn't get much work done that morning; resting his eyes for longer and longer periods of time and not really contributing much verbally. By the time the first bell went the blond had barely completed any work and what he had done was too messy to really understand.

Jeremy knew he should be stricter but the youngest had practically looked dead on his feet when he came in. During morning break the blond ignored all food and simply curled up in the bean bags, promptly falling fast asleep. The other kids also decided to stay despite Jeremy's protests. He didn't mind them impeding on his own break but he was worried Kevin might start acting up, being indoors for so long.

However it seemed he needn't have worried as all four were as silent as a mouse the whole time, engaging in only limited whispered conversations, and keeping Kevin preoccupied when he began to get restless.

When the bell went again to mark the end of break the youngest didn't even stir from the little nest he had made for himself.

 _I'm getting too soft_ , he thought as he let the blond sleep on throughout the whole of the next lesson.

When the lunch bell went, Mitch went to rouse the sleepy child and dragged him off to buy him something to eat, promising to get him whatever food he wanted as long as he didn't have to entertain Kevin in the tiny room any longer.

Jeremy smiled proudly as he saw Mitch taking care of the youngster. The young teen would never admit it, but it was clear he had a huge fondness for Scott, ever since the duos little outing to the hospital together.

As Kirstie went to leave, he asked her what the conversation with the kid had been about earlier.

She smiled slightly but shook her head. "I'm sorry. I'm sworn to secrecy Mr L, but...but stuff's not all good with him."

"Kirstie, if you have any reason to think he's in danger then you need to tell me," he almost went to grab her in his desperation for answers.

Kirstie shook her head quickly, trying to diffuse his worry. "No. He's not in danger as such. He's a tough little rat, I trust he can handle himself. But I think money is just a bigger issue at home than what he lets on."

"He said he didn't get any Christmas presents," he admitted, sorrowfully.

"Wow, that's gotta suck for a kid his age."

"I don't suppose you would ever be able to check up on him at home?"

"Not unless I wanna end up in ER." She caught the look on his face and warned him, "You should stay clear too Mr L, the high rises aren't a safe place for naive outsiders."

_Oh I know. The East Rises were one thing, but The Syndicate at least seem to maintain some form of order. The West Rises on the other hand; I hear not even cops like to venture there._

"I just worry about him so much sometimes, y'know?"

Kirstie clicked her tongue and exhaled heavily. "I'll see if I can put some feelers out...I'm not promising anything," she cautioned him "but I'll try and find out what's going on with his mom."

Jeremy gave her a grateful smile. "Thank you Kirstie."

"Mmm."

Another question came into his head. "You don't happen to know what Kevin and Scott get up to in the storage cupboard do you?"

She looked taken aback, "You don't know?" she asked incredulously.

After realising that he clearly didn't, she revealed the boys little secret. "Mr L, Kevin stores, like, three packets of sweets in there at all times."

"That little..."  _Sneaky fucker._

"That's why they usually come out licking their lips," Kirstie grinned.

Jeremy had to chuckle at the youngsters deceptiveness and walked over to the storage cupboard, swinging the door open as if he expected to find mountains of sweets piled at the back. There was nothing. Nothing on display that is.

"Any idea where he puts then?" he asked Kirstie.

She shrugged from behind him, "Can't help you there I'm afraid."

Scanning the cluttered shelves, all of a sudden Jeremy heard rustlings...and then a small squeak. 

"You hear that?" he checked with the teen to make sure he was not going crazy. He wouldn't be surprised with the stress his job put him under, but the young girl confirmed his suspicions.

"Yep, sounds like we've got ourselves a visitor."

"Is it a rat?" he wondered allowed.

Kirstie wrinkled her nose. "I wouldn't be surprised. This school seems to attract all kinds of vermin."

"Great, that's all we need is a litter of rats eating through the furniture."

Still grinning, Kirstie patted him on the back. "Don't worry Mr L. I'll get rid of it for you. I know a guy who specialises in rodent traps."

_Of course you do._

"Looks like I'm gonna owe you for a lot of things soon Kirstie."

"Great! I love people owing me things Mr L!"

And with that she flounced out of the room, clutching her new bag tightly.

Jeremy shook his head.

_She is a little character. But she's a good kid. No matter what she or anyone else might think._


	18. Clover Fields

_We can't always protect the people we care about, but we always care about the people we protect. - Carissa Kohne, The Seventh Division_

**Monday 7th January**

The cold wind bit at Mitch's already numbing fingertips as he trudged along the sidewalk following an excited nine year old. The school day was over and Mitch had agreed to spend some time with Scott, seeing as the little guy couldn't go to Kevin's today and Mitch had the day off work.

Mitch had left it up to Scott to decide what they were going to do and the youngster had eagerly told him about "the most awesomest place in the whole world!", which was only a twenty minute bus ride from the school.

Although he would have rather done something which involved staying indoors and therefore staying warm, he found it was becoming harder and harder to say no to those pleading baby blues.

_I'm gonna be as bad as my grandma was with me soon._

"Welcome to Clover Fields!" Scott shouted as he ran under the big brass sign that said the same thing.

Mitch looked around at the grassy area. It was not that big and not that impressive. There was a pond, and some trees, and a mini play area, and not much else.

"This is more of a park than a field and I don't see any clovers."

Scott frowned, looking down at his feet as if he expected to find the flowers right there. "Yeah I s'pose...but this place is important and special to me... and my dad, he... yeah, we came here to scatter his ashes." The little boy ran out ahead of Mitch, turning to his friend with his arms spread wide, "My dad's all over the place, he's not leaving!" he laughed.

Mitch smiled warmly at him. "You bet he isn't," he agreed.

_I guess this is where his dad would have brought him a lot. It's near the military centre._

The boy ran back to him and started pulling the teen along. "C'mon, I'll show you a really cool place."

Mitch found himself being lugged across the park, like he was walking some unruly dog, to the furthest clump of trees. Scott took him through a darkened tree tunnel which opened up into a clearing in the centre and turned expectantly to watch Mitch for his reaction.

"Wow...a dead tree," Mitch drawled. And it was just that. Albeit a very large dead one.

"You mean the perfect climbing tree!" Scott corrected him.

"You are not climbing that."

"I am."

"No," Mitch said, putting his foot down, "you are not."

A few minutes later Mitch watched anxiously as Scott climbed higher and higher. He almost wished he had to work tonight so he didn't have to be responsible for the blond breaking his neck, but his Aunt Emma insisted he have one day other than Sunday off, and with money no longer as big of an issue he had eventually agreed. Still, he was gonna need that promotion if he had to pay compensation for a little boy face-planting the ground.

However in the end it seemed he needn't have worried so much, as this particular little boy was apparently half monkey.

"Mitchy look at me!" Scott shouted as he flipped over a branch so he was just dangling my his knees, his dog tags ending up in his mouth.

Mitch grimaced, "Yeah I'd rather look at you down here, y'know on the nice firm ground."

Scott laughed, his face turning red from the blood rush. "Live a little Mitchy!" he joked.

"People are saying that a lot to me recently. Try this, do that, live life to the fullest and all that crap."

"What's wrong with living life to the fullest?" Scott's voice strained as he flipped himself back upright.

"Nothing. It's just there's not enough time in the day to enjoy life and make a living."

"They can't be combined?" the blond questioned, carefully scrambling back down through the branches.

_Combined? When did you start using words like that?_

"When you start working the fast food chains you'll understand. Hey, maybe you can come and work with me," Mitch suggested.

Scott leapt the last few feet down to the leafy floor, "I don't wanna work there."

"I don't think you'll have much choice kiddo. It's the only place I know that'll take on twelve year olds."

Actually taking Mitch in when he was thirteen had been a lot of persuasion on his part, but he figured in a few years he might be able to pull some strings to get Scott a small job there too.

The younger boy however, did not seem particularly pleased with that idea. "But twelve is ages away! I wanna earn money now! And not at some burger joint," he said the last words with an air of superiority that he was not entitled to have and continued to ramble, "I could always do what Kirstie does, she's got loads of money."

"Oh yeah?" Mitch indulged him. Scott was no crime family kid. "And you're gonna do that how?"

Scott folded his arms, "Easy, I just go up to the guy and say I'm ready!"

_Okay, I was not expecting that reply._

"You just go up to  _the guy_?"

The boy nodded his head, looking up at Mitch, eyes searching for approval. "Yeah! They already scouted me out, they say I'd be a good runner y'know, cos I'm fast and I can think on my feet," he explained, trying to stand as tall as he could, but still barely managing to reach Mitch's chest height.

"When you say runner..."

"Well, y'know...delivering, like, smokes and other stuff."

_Yeah, and I know where that story would end: you, getting caught by the cops and thrown into juvie, or worse still, dead in some alley shoot-out._

"Scotty," Mitch crouched, pulling Scott's arms down and taking the boy's little hands in his own slender ones. "I need you to promise me that you will never go up to this guy ever again."

"But Mitch–"

"No but's, do we have a deal? Promise me you'll stay away from all that stuff," Mitch urged, praying that the obvious desperation in his voice was enough to dissuade Scott from whatever he might have been considering.

Scott stared at Mitch's troubled face. "I promise," he vowed.

Mitch exhaled in relief and smiled, "You have to shake hands for deals."

The blond looked delighted at his throwback to their moment in the hospital waiting room. "Deal," he confirmed with a firm handshake. "I didn't really wanna anyway cos then I'd have to miss school a lot, and school's pretty awesome y'know?" he divulged to Mitch.

"Yeah, it could definitely be worse," the teen decided. "Fancy something to eat?" he asked, standing up at the boy's loud affirmative, and took out the food his Aunt had made for him.

He would forever be grateful to Scott for encouraging him to face his fears and go and speak to someone - Lottie her name was - at the programme. The first few sessions had been awkward on his part to say the least. He had been silent, he had been sarcastic, he had shouted, he had sworn, but all that time Lottie had been understanding and never once judgemental.

After three weeks of seeing her, Mitch had finally asked why she wanted to help him. That surely her time could be better spent elsewhere. She had replied that when she was young her own single mother had been diagnosed with MS. She said she tried to do it all on her own, making money, looking after her mom and the house just like Mitch was, and in the end it at lead her down some very dark roads.

At the time there had been no programmes like the one he was in, so she had no way to deal with what she was going through, and it wasn't until her mother finally passed away that she was able to seek the right help. Once she was back on her feet she made it her life-long goal to help kids who were in a similar situation. If nothing else, she was someone who Mitch could relate to and was always willing for him to call her or visit if he was feeling particularly stressed or upset. 

The sessions began to prove to him that he was not alone and that people were willing to help him for no other motives other than they were good people wanted to help. That time in the bathroom with that piece of mirror in his hand was almost like a bad nightmare now.

Finding a bench sheltered from the cold breeze sweeping though the park, the two boys tucked into their food. Mitch had bought a few extras for Scott as well because the boy was too damn skinny in Mitch's eyes. Not naturally slender like Mitch himself but just underfed.

They chatted for a bit about nothing in particular. Scott re-accounted the time his neighbour, Michael, had thrown one of his chairs out of the window while stoned and in turn Mitch told him about the time when he was eight and had snuck away at Christmas with a whole bottle of red wine. Needless to say his parents had not been very happy when he had interrupted the family celebrations later with his own rather inappropriate version of Jingle Bells.

After a lot of persuasion Scott managed to get Mitch to perform what he remember of the song. It went a little like this:

_Santa Clause, Santa Clause,_

_Santa Clause is dead,_

_Rudolph took a 44 and shot him in the head,_

_Oh Barbie doll, Barbie doll tried to save his life,_

_But "G""I"- Joe FROM MEXICO stabbed her with a knife!_

That had left Scott in hysterics for at least two minutes and lead to him proclaiming Mitch as the funniest person he had ever met.

_While I appreciate the compliment, you should try listening to some of the insane discussions you and Kevin have. What was the one I heard the other day? Oh yeah Kevin asked "What do you know about Croatia?" and you replied, completely serious, "It's full of crows and it's in Asia." I almost couldn't breathe after that!_

After messing about and joking around while they ate, Scott calmed the mood by asking, "How come before this year, the only person I ever saw you hang out with was Kirstie?"

Mitch put his arm around the smaller boy, "I don't make friends as easily as you kiddo. It's fine though," he said when he could see Scott about to protest, "I'm just more of a one or two close friends kind of guy."

Scott nodded in understanding. "You're my friend though, right Mitchy? We're close friends, aren't we?"

Mitch wriggled in his seat.  _Ahh, I'm not good at these sort of conversations,_  but he replied to Scott's question truthfully all the same.

"Yeah, of course we are," he gave the boy's hair a ruffle.

Scott nodded once more, continuing: "And we'll look out for each other cos that's what buddies do, okay? I'll make sure you never get unhappy and you'll make sure I don't join The Strikers."

Mitch could feel a lump forming in his throat but managed to maintain an aura of composure and coolness.

"Yeah okay. Sounds good."

_Yeah, we'll look out for each other. You betcha little heart Scotty I'm gonna look out for you._


	19. Murder In The Bakery

_It is a happy talent to know how to play. - Ralph Waldo Emerson_

**Friday 11th January**

"Do we know what this is class?" Mr L asked, holding up a fairly large gift bag.

Kirstie rolled her eyes.  _Obviously not Mr L, we can't see the fucking thing._

The teacher smiled at their silence. "This is a present from my mommy!" he said proudly, "And we are going to use it for a very special lesson today. Home economics!"

They were all quiet.

"Woop," Mitch quipped into the silence.

Ignoring their silence Mr L excitedly continued. "You are to be given two of these," the teacher held up a container filled with plain gingerbread men, explaining they were "kindly baked by Miss Walters for you to decorate and hand in to me to be graded."

It was obvious to everyone that Mr L was just kidding around but as usual, Kevin didn't quite catch on that he was joking.

"Who's Miss Walters?" Kevin asked.

"The lady with the moustache," Scott informed him.

"Oh yeah! She's scary. I bet she put razor blades in the gingerbread or something Mr L, we should probably keep them ourselves for your own personal safety, y'know?" The boy needed to make sure there was no way the teacher would get to eat the results of the hard work he was about to put in.

Mr L didn't even try to put Kevin in his place, instead just playing along, "Oh go on then! How can I deny such bravery." He flapped his arms around like he was some sort of freaking princess. 

_He's such an idiot sometimes. That's what you get when you hire a twenty-three year old teacher._

The so-called teacher then began to unbox the baking decorations; you had icing pens, modelling paste, candy buttons, sprinkles, gold leaf, and those little silver balls which made you think your teeth were breaking. Not a bad assortment. Mr L had clearly been spoiled at Christmas.

It quickly became very clear that Kirstie and Mitch were the only ones who had any idea what they were doing; Mitch briefly and efficiently working on the task as if he were working a shift, while Kirstie took her time to think about what she wanted to create, delicately handling the decorations like they were pieces of glass.

Avi just looked dumbfounded at what he was expected to do, and Mr L had to go over to give him some encouragement. Kirstie watched in amusement as the boy poked at the decorations like an old lady might poke at the screen of an iPad.  _Bless him_ , she thought.

Meanwhile Kevin, although he had been very excited at first, had soon become bored once he had used up all his decorations on his very confusing gingerbread men - apparently they were Batman and Superman. They were both soon crunched-up man and in-my-stomach man when the young boy devoured them almost instantly.

Scott wasn't doing much better either, for as soon as one part was decorated he would take a bite out of it. His man was looking more like a snow man, with all it's legs and arms having been chomped off.

"Ow!" he cried out, after eating a handful of what Kirstie had nicknamed "bullet beads".

"Haha! Those Scotty are my kid proof decorations!" Mr L grinned, shaking the boy's shoulders.

"Why would people make these?" Scott asked with his mouth full, quite clearly opting for holding the beads there until they dissolved rather than lose all his teeth.

"I dunno, maybe to laugh at reactions like your– Kevin, that is  _not_  what it's for!"

Mr L rushed over to the eleven year old, who had begun tattooing himself with one of the icing pens.

Kirstie continued to work quietly on her little Elphaba and Glinda from Wicked. It had been the last musical she had snuck herself into a long while back, and she had fallen in love.

_Maybe one day I'll be able to walk in without worrying about judgement from the rest of the family._

"Wow Kirstie, those are amazing!" Mitch praised her creations, having finished with his own Beyonce and Jay-Z.

Kirstie smiled at the younger boy, who was in one of the best spirits she had ever seen him. Ever since he had enrolled in that programme his mood seemed to increase by the day. The sullen, grumpy and sarcastic boy she had first acquainted herself with last year was becoming a kind, gentle kid with the most hilarious sarcastic wit.

She felt like a proud big sister. 

Finishing off her gingerbread women with a sprinkle of gold leaf, she admired her handiwork. "Yeah, they could be better if we had more decorations."

The little known - or rather completely unknown - fact about Kirstie was that beneath the tough, ass-kicking exterior, lay a young girl who really just had a passion for the arts. Perhaps in another life she could have taken dance lessons as a kid, or taken up piano and singing. Maybe she would be doing plays on the stage and enthralling audiences in the way she always was at the theatre.

But that wasn't reality. Her reality was drugs and violence. She dealt drugs and she witnessed violence. That was the main part of her life outside school.

_But what else can I do? I am my father's daughter. I'm a part of his empire._

They were her family. It didn't matter if she liked them or not, it was an unspoken law that if you were born into the family, you worked for the family, and you died for the family.

No one else was ever going to accept her for who she was. For the stuff she had done and was going to have to do as she got older and rose up the ranks.

_But do they actually know the real me? Sure they see the girl who knows how to evade the cops and handle herself in a fight. But do they really know me? In fact, do I let anyone see the true me?_

Her train of thought was stopped when she noticed "Mr Silence" standing next to her, peering down at what she had made. He was still turning up to school in his new attire and Kirstie had to admit, it suited him a lot, especially the leather jacket.

She grinned at him. "Here Avi, you can have the first bite." She held up Glinda to the teen's mouth without even stopping to think that this unexpected movement might cause him to squirm away like the nervous creature he was. Fortunately, after a moments consideration and some widening of his eyes, he opened his jaw for her to pop the gingerbread in.

_C'mon, don't look so frightened. I haven't poisoned it, I promise._

"What d'you think?" Kirstie asked nervously, which was strange because she hardly ever got nervous. She could handle herself in shoot outs, in the deadliest of fights, and yet for some reason being judged for her decorating skills had set her on edge.

Avi chewed carefully and slowly, as if he were savouring every crumb. She didn't quite know how he was going to respond to her question; maybe with a thumbs up or an elusive smile she was always attempting to get from him?

Instead he walked off and got a pen and paper, writing down in his neat handwriting:  _Best gingerbread I've ever tasted._

Kirstie felt herself relax in relief that he approved. Which was dumb. She had no need of his approval. He was just some creepy, quiet guy...who also happened to have one of the warmest smiles she'd ever seen, but that was beside the point. Also, a long time later, she would later realise that was technically the first sentence he ever said to her.

She rolled her eyes at his little note, "Yeah, yeah smooth talker. I can sense a white lie when I hear...or read one."

The boy shook his head instantly, grabbing his pen again and scribbling hastily:  _Well it is true_ , and then added,   _I have never had gingerbread before._

"Oh. Right," Kirstie mumbled, accepting that he was telling the truth.  _Who's never eaten gingerbread before?_

The boy paused and Kirstie could practically hear the gears in his brain turning. She watched his face as it contorted into an expression she couldn't quite place. It was clear the guy had something on his mind and the for a fleeting moment the girl thought...no, she hoped that Avi was going to write down a full paragraph explaining his feelings.

She waited with baited breath as he picked up the pen once more...and raised her eyebrows as he then simply drew a smiley face.

Kirstie let out a laugh. "You're such a dork," she told him and swore that she could see a twinkle in the older teen's eyes.

Speaking of dorks, all of a sudden Scott barged out of the storage cupboard, his face red with anger rather than sticky from eating sweets.

"Murderer!" he yelled at their teacher.

"What?" Mr L exclaimed in utter confusion, as Scott ran up to him with a huge scowl on his face.

"You murdered a mouse and now it's in a trap in the storage cupboard," the blond boy explained, obviously furious with the young man.

_Oh, so it was a mouse not a rat we heard then._

Mr L turned to Kirstie, exasperated. "I thought you were going to sort it?" he moaned.

 _Oops, I forgot all about it. God it must stink by now if it's been there a week._  "Sorry," she said, looking anxiously at the youngest boy.

"Murderer!" Scott continued to shout accusingly at their teacher.

"Why are you blaming me?" Mr L asked, holding his arms up like he was under arrest.

"We can't have mice in the class can we Scotty?" Kirstie tried to step in to save their teacher from being taken into custody.

The blond turned to her, still scowling. "Why not?" he raged.

"Because they're dirty and they smell," she reasoned.

"So does Kevin," he replied without missing a beat.

"Hey! I have a bath every night!"

They both ignored the insulted boy and Kirstie tried another argument. "They'll run around the class and poop everywhere," she insisted.

"So does Kevin."

"C'mon dude! That's just not true!"

It was clear to everyone involved that Scott was not going to let this one rest easily. Kirstie found it all a bit ironic. The kid barely bat an eyelid now when people were shot execution style three flats above him, but a little mouse dying to her trap had him acting as if someone had killed his dog.

_And he wouldn't even have known it existed if I had checked the trap earlier. Well girl, you got yourself into this mess, you'll have to get yourself out of it._

At the start of the year, her most natural response might have been to tell the little boy to "go fuck yourself and your rat", but now unfortunately she was beginning to care too much about the impression she gave off to those around her, or more specifically right now, the quiet boy watching the exchange with interest.

With a sigh she asked, "What can I do to make it up to you?"

Scott tilted his head in surprise at her question and looked unsure how he was meant to answer it.

Kirstie pointed to the gingerbread. "How about I make some more of these and bring them in?" she suggested, trying to offer something they both might agree upon.

The youngster considered this. "I guess I might forgive you if you did that..." and before he could say any more Kirstie said that it was that or nothing, therefore confirming the deal.

However there was one more thing he wanted to do and, after a lot of puppy eyes were aimed at everyone, they all agreed to his little idea.

During the lunch break the whole class gathered around a small hole in the ground outside, shivering in the cold air as Scott knelt down with a tissue wrapped mouse in hand. Kirstie pulled Mitch and Avi closer to her, for warmth purposes only of course.

The youngest cleared his throat, checked to make sure everyone was paying close attention, and began his sermon. "Brothers, sisters, teacher, we are gathered here in the bosom of Jesus to say goodbye to this...to this mouse, killed before its time by vicious savages." He said the last part while fixing a steely gaze on Kirstie and Mr L.

He took out another small package from his pocket and placed it in the hole with the mouse. "We have given it cheese and bread for its journey to heaven, or at least if it goes to hell, it'll have cheese on toast." Kirstie, along with everyone else, had to bite her cheeks at that point, otherwise she would have rudely interrupted the speech. She could even see Avi biting back a smirk, his eyes wide with amusement.

Scott, oblivious to the struggles his peers were having trying to keep a straight face, brought along a small white bear he had handily "borrowed" from another class, who was wearing a newly tailored paper hat courtesy of Kevin.

"Next up is the Pope," he announced, and on cue the bear began kicking soil on top of the dead rodent.

"Dust to dust, for richer or for poorer, in sickness or in health, may the force be with you, because you're worth it, baby I can see your halo, amen and out. Thank you, Pope." He handed the now brown bear back to Mr L and stood up for a moments silence.

"That was beautiful kiddo," Mitch told him, wiping a tear of laughter from his eye. The oldest three and Mr L were all sharing looks like they couldn't believe what they'd just witnessed.

_That is one memory that's ingrained now in our brains forever. How many people can say they attended a mouse funeral held by a Star Wars and Beyonce quoting bear?_

Kirstie also noticed that Avi hadn't tried to remove himself from her grip once during the ceremony and that he'd been watching the youngster with immense fondness. That's what she liked the most about him. While herself and Mitch could often get frustrated or bored, and therefore act a bit like assholes, and Scott and Kevin could get hyper or annoying and act like insane puppies; she had a feeling that the oldest boy was filled with nothing but warmth and kindness at all times.

Of course this was a stupid thought, and maybe it was easy for Kirstie to just fantasise about this because she had so little to go on with him. But what may have once seemed like a cold exterior the boy had about him, was looking more and more like a cloak of shyness Avi held his real personality behind.

But again, this was just her hypothesising. On the other hand she thought she could rule out the him being a serial killer idea. She didn't know many killers who drew smiley faces about gingerbread.

Thankfully the rest of that day went by with no more murders being committed, neither at school or when Kirstie was doing the door to door rounds with her older brother - an actual blood relation this time - collecting the family "taxes" from local businesses under their protection.

When she got home that evening, her own share of hundred dollars safely in her boots, she was met by one her uncles outside her apartment who told her she was to speak to her father right away.

She had stupid audacity to reply that the old man would see her when she was ready, which resulted in the man dragging her off by her hair to the apartment where her father conducted most of his business. She tried to imagine Avi ever treating a girl like this and then remembered it looked like the guy had a statue in his garden. If he'd grown up as posh at it seemed, his view of women was probably that they were for material use only. Or at least that's what she tried to convince herself: grown men weren't to be relied upon or trusted, ever. The only person she needed to succeed in life was herself.

After rudely depositing the young girl outside the door Kirstie had to wait twenty minutes anyway until the current meeting was over. When the door opened her eyes widened in surprise as three very important and very dangerous men walked out. They were her father's underlings. Men who had been given control of certain districts in The Syndicate's domain. They answered to her father and no one else, including each other, which was why she knew something was up when they emerged together as a group.

Once they had all exited, she entered the darkened room. Her father was sitting in his large leather chair near the window, observing his city below him. He had just lit a cigar, Cuban from the smell of it. 

"Papa? What was that all about?" she asked the shadowed figure.

The man didn't bother turning to look at her, his head remaining merely a harsh silhouette against the window, but he patted the arm of the chair and spoke calmly but sternly.

"Sit here my darling. Your papa has some things he needs to run by you..."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Credits to Guys Jenkins for inspiring that little mouse scene ;)


	20. Egg Head

_"The truth." Dumbledore sighed. "It is a beautiful and terrible thing, and should therefore be treated with great caution. - J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone_

**Wednesday 16th January**

It was bound to happen at some point. Almost inevitable with the amount of times the two young boys liked to act the fools and play fight in the cramped classroom, especially near the end of the day when Jeremy was assigning homework to the older kids.

The games had been harmless for a good while; they had been army crawling under the desks and flicking paper balls at each other but then Kevin had initiated what he called the "poking game", a game which was pretty much what it sounded like. The two had taken it in turns trying to poke at each other and saying the word "poke" each time. Of course though, this would never last long and before long Scott had grown tired of just giving a mere poke.

Poke turned to jab, which went to slap, punch, and eventually the youngster gave Kevin a big shove. Due to the height and weight difference it only made the other boy stumble back slightly. Unfortunately in return Kevin made the fatal error of forgetting that it worked in reverse, as he put just as much effort behind a shove of his own, hitting the blond like a cannon ball.

Jeremy could only watch as the youngest fell back, smashing his head against the corner of the desk, immediately bringing his hands up to cover the back of his head and hiding his face into his knees.

"Ow." Scott said quietly, his voice quivering slightly. Everyone seemed to freeze as it was uncertain if the blond was in pain. Then, like most kid's his age, the reality of what happened suddenly hit him and before they knew it they had a full on wailing nine year old in the room.

Mitch was over in a flash, grabbing the boy's shoulders and trying to get a look at Scott's head.

"Where's it hurt kiddo? Show me," he fussed, making the rookie mistake of getting almost as worked up as Scott was, leading to the boy crying even harder.

"K-Kevin, p- _pushed_   _me_!" Scott said tearfully, just to make sure everyone would know who to blame and the other youngster looked about ready to cry in shame too.

Jeremy put a comforting hand on Kevin's shoulder just to let him know he wasn't angry at him but the boy still looked distraught at what he had done. There would be no need to reprimand the boy, he was already sorry enough as it was and Jeremy couldn't really blame him. He remembered many a time, when he and his brother were small, that he himself had been able to get away with more, or place the blame on his brother's shoulders, simply because he was younger and smaller.

Mitch was still fussing around the youngest, who showed no signs that he was going to stop crying any time soon. Jeremy assumed the kid would calm down after a while - kids were often more resilient than people thought - and then he would be able to assess the situation once Scott was out of his initial shock.

Ever persistent though, Mitch continued to babble, "C'mon, let's move your hands, oh...Mr L!"

He rushed over at the teen's panicked tone and peered down to Scott's now uncovered head. Jeremy was surprised how quickly a lump the size of a golf ball was forming underneath the blond locks.

_Okay, I suppose that is a good reason for him to be crying for so long._

"Does he need to go to hospital?" Mitch asked, wrapping his arms around the boy, who's cries were eventually beginning to die down to whimpers.

Jeremy stroked the hair down the back of Scott's neck and decided, "I think just a nurses trip will do for now. There's no blood. She can just check he doesn't have concussion or anything."

Mitch nodded. "I'll take him," he stood up. "C'mon Scotty," he instructed gently, taking the boy's hand.

"Okay, thank you Mitch," Jeremy smiled as the two went past.

Once they were out of the room and out of earshot, he turned to his other resident troublemaker. Kevin had been understandably if unnaturally quiet the whole time, and was refusing to look at anything other than his feet.

Jeremy went over and put an arm around his shoulders. "I know you were only playing Kevin, but remember he is smaller than you...for now at least."

_If Scott had hurried up with his God damn growth spurt this could all have been avoided. I should also have ended that game after it evolved from poke to punch._

Kevin looked up at him. "I know, I never meant it! I just forgot, I'm sorry, I'll make it up to him!" he blurted out.

"Saying sorry will be enough. I don't think Scott's one to hold a grudge do you?"

Kevin shook his head, slightly calmer now he realised his friend wasn't going to hate him, and Jeremy gave shoulder a little squeeze.

"Let's just agree you'll make sure it doesn't happen again," the teacher winked at the boy and Kevin put his hand over his heart as if he were taking an oath.

"I'll never push him again!" he swore.

"Well we're not saying that..." Kirstie drawled, "what?" she exclaimed at Jeremy's warning glare, "they're always wrestling and stuff, just don't get too carried away!" she smiled, bumping shoulders with the younger boy.

And then Avi, with his ever growing confidence around the five of them, actually purposefully turned Kevin's head to look at him. With his index finger he tapped the younger boy's forehead and then repeated the action over Kevin's chest.

It was clear to all three what he was trying to get at.

_Head over heart, every time._

Kevin nodded seriously but Jeremy knew that was easier said than done. The stopping point that would come naturally to most kids was never quite as clear to Kevin. The boy was obviously trying though. The other day when Kevin had begun to feel restless, he'd informed his teacher first, so Jeremy allowed him five minutes outside to burn off steam before he could disrupt the lesson.

 _I only wish we could find you something that you would never lose interest in._  That one was still a work in progress, and from what he'd gathered from Kevin, his grandfather was still adamant his grandson could learn to cope with whatever - Jeremy was almost certain it was ADD - he was dealing with in time.

About half an hour later, just before the end of school bell went off, Mitch finally walked back into the room hand in hand with a still upset looking Scott. The others rushed over, eager to make sure the youngest was alright and Jeremy had to physically step in front of them in order to get some answers first.

"He's alright. Someone's just gotta keep an eye on him for the next couple of hours," Mitch smiled at the young boy, holding him close to his side.

Kevin looked wide eyed at his friend. "I'm really very so sorry Scotty!" he burst out, desperate for forgiveness.

The youngest gave him a small smile. "S'okay Kevo," the boy sniffed, "m'sorry too. Mitchy says I shouldn't have pushed you first."

Jeremy nodded at Mitch in thanks.  _Perfect, now I don't have to say it._

"Maybe we should only push each other when there are no evil desks around," Kevin suggested to Scott, trying to be diplomatic.

"Okay," Scott nodded, obviously still a bit overwhelmed from the afternoon's events.

Kevin suddenly beamed when an idea popped into his head. "I know! To apologise to everyone I propose a trip to Chipotle. Don't worry, I'll pay and it'll y'know, be kind of fun for us all to hang out together y'know?" His face fell when remembered not everyone had the luxury of free time after school.

"Oh wait, you're working aren't you Mitch?"

"Yeah...but" the teen looked down at Scott's pleading eyes, "I think I can call in sick," he grinned, giving the boy's shoulders a squeeze.

"Oh right! This is gonna be awesome! Isn't it Scott?" Kevin bounced about, doing a weird dance around everyone.

"Yeah!" Scott laughed, already back to his normal sunny mood. "Can Mr L come too?"

"Ah, I've got to stay longer at school unlike you lot, but have a good time all the same. Please try to stay out of trouble."

Before Kevin could begin begging the teacher to come too, he was distracted by the sight of Avi getting his bag, ready to leave.

"You'll come, right Avi?" he asked as the boy started to walk towards the door. The question caused Avi to mistime his steps, and he stumbled in confusion, giving Kevin a look of shock. He shook his head firmly. 

"What?" Kevin was not pleased. "You're not coming? C'mon Avi, don't be boring!" he pestered, bounding around the older boy.

"Yeah it's Chipotle Avi," Mitch added. "You can't say no to Chipotle!"

"He can if he wants," Kirstie muttered, but no one paid attention to her.

"Are you busy?" Mitch asked.

Avi shook his head. Even in his nervous state he was truthful where possible.

"Yeah didn't think so," Mitch said, giving him the once over. "Not like you need an after school job or anything," he pointed out accusingly.

"Please come Avi," Scott pleaded.

Kevin tugged on the boy's arm some more. "Yeah c'mon Avi!" 

"Avi! Avi!" The youngest two started chanting.

"Alright boys," Jeremy tried to quieten them down.

"Avi! Avi!" Mitch joined in too.

"Avi!" The oldest boy hunched his shoulders, as if he were giving in but then...he bolted.

"...Avi?"

They all turned shocked to watch the boy barge past Kevin and out of the door with his hands over his ears, looking as terrified as if he were being witch hunted.

The other kids stood in silence before all turning their gazes from the door to him, waiting to see what he had to say about that little freakout. Jeremy was just as confused as they were. No matter how annoying the others were being, it didn't warrant Avi freaking out as much as that.

His mind wandered back to the photos of the timid boy standing behind his father. And the name Abbott Kaplan swam around in his mind, circling like some predatory shark.

A strict father and unusually regulated lifestyle didn't create a mute son who ran the moment too much attention was placed on him.  _What am I not seeing?_  There must be something else he was missing. There just had to be.


	21. Chipotle For Four

_The only time to eat diet food is while you're waiting for the steak to cook. - Julia Child_

**Later that day...**

Burrito bowl, black beans, rice, chicken, double corn salsa, guacamole, and a half-portion of cheese. That was a typical Kevin Olusola order at Chipotle and it was what he had bought this time also. True to his word, Kevin was treating the three of his classmates who had agreed to come to a meal of the finest quality.

Scott had been unsure what to order, saying he had never eaten out before, and Kevin had eventually taken pity on the younger boy and bought him a kid's meal.

On the other hand, Kirstie at first appeared to be taking advantage of Kevin's generosity, ordering more than she could ever possibly want, but after almost begging her to stop, she had laughed and bought it all herself to share with Mitch, saying she only let guys buy her food if she was on a date.

They were all siting near the window, Kirstie and Kevin on one side and Scott and Mitch on the other. He'd never seen Mitch as the overly affectionate type until now. The two's chairs were so close together Scott was practically sitting on his lap, his head resting against the teen's shoulder, as he ate his meal with great enthusiasm while Mitch was absentmindedly running his hands through the blond's hair, mindful to where the lump still was.

Kevin still couldn't quite shake the guilt he felt for being the cause of the youngest's injury but there was nothing to do about it bar going back in time and realising what a stupid idea it had been to push the smaller boy in the tiny room. And people were always telling him he was smart.

_Head over heart. That's what Avi was trying to tell me. I need to learn to pause before I act._

"For the last time Kevin, we're not telling you!"

"But why? If people do it all the time, it can't be bad."

He'd been trying to get out of the three for weeks what really happened when people have sex. He had already looked up the dictionary definition of course; all that said was: "sexual activity, including specifically sexual intercourse". That meant absolutely nothing to him and only further confused what it actually involved. All he knew was that you sometimes got babies out of it. In fact, he knew a lot of the scientific stuff surrounding sex - he was a smart boy after all - but the actual act still remained a great mystery.

"I can explain," Scott said, through a mouthful of cheese and tacos. Kevin wasn't sure if Scott was the best one to explain since he didn't have experience in the act, unlike Kirstie and Mitch, but was interested to hear what the boy had to say all the same.

"Oh you can, can you?" Mitch too seemed intrigued at what was about to come out of Scott's mouth.

"Mmhmm," the boy mumbled, the food in his mouth almost ending back up on the table. "It's like, two people, or more if they want, get really close and then they um, they kind of do stuff to each other. But it's stuff which makes them feel really happy, and then they make noises and stuff."

Mitch raised his eyebrows and shook his head in wonderment at Kirstie. "How enlightening."

_Really? I'm not enlightened at all._

"You mean kissing and stuff?" Kevin asked.

Scott nodded, almost knocking Mitch's chin. "Yeah but they don't just kiss each other's mouths. Sometimes the girl sucks on–"

"Unless you want another egg on your head Scott, you'd be wise to shut up now," Kirstie warned, but she said it with a knowing smile.

Scott smiled back and snuggled closer into Mitch, with the older boy resting his chin on the boy's messy blond hair. All of a sudden Kevin felt quite left out. They were all in on something he was not familiar with and they weren't willing to share. Every time he'd tried asking in the past, Kirstie and Mitch had always told him he'd find out when he was older, or if he was that desperate to go and spend a night at the high rises. He definitely wasn't that desperate, but still remained ever curious.

As to when he'd be able to find out himself, Mitch and Kirstie both said fourteen and thirteen were the respective ages for both of them. Scott had told him that he never planned to undertake in the action himself, having been thoroughly grossed out by what he had witnessed in his short life. If he was to understand, first Kevin knew needed a girlfriend, and the effort that seemed take was just not worth it for him right now.

His imaginings were interrupted by Scott: "I wish Avi coulda come too. He's nice," he told the group.

"He obviously didn't want to hang out with the likes of us," Mitch muttered, and Kirstie narrowed her eyes at him.

"You really think that?"

"It's clear Kirst, he comes from money. I mean, have you seen his bag, and those shoes he used to wear before he turned into a lumberjack."

Kirstie just let out a half laugh, "He's not a snob," she insisted, turning away.

_Hmm, that's interesting. Kirstie is not usually one to go on the defensive._

"How would you know? You become a mind reader without telling me?" Mitch jokingly challenged.

"Kirstie's right," Kevin stepped in, "Avi musta had a good reason not to be here."

"I have a good reason not to be here," Mitch reminded everyone of his work commitments, "but I still came, cos...well you guys are kinda my friends I guess."

_I think that's the first time he's ever acknowledged it out loud. Yes Mitch! Now we just need Kirstie to admit it too and we can all be a happy little family._

Scott could not have looked happier at Mitch's statement. "We are friends!" he squealed at everyone excitedly.

"Yeah, well I wouldn't take it that far," Kirstie remarked, but she smirked all the same.

After a moments break in the conversation when everyone had their mouths full, Scott brought everyones attention back to their absent comrade.

"I think he's scared," he decided.

Mitch frowned. "Who? Avi?"

"Yep, he was scared to come here."

"But we're not  _that_  scary, and he hangs around with us at lunch when the weather's bad."

"Maybe he's scared of Chipotle?" Scott pondered aloud and Kirstie snorted.

"That is the dumbest thing I've ever heard, even from you," she mocked the youngster.

Scott was quick with a retort of his own, "But you're with The Syndicate, you must here dumb stuff all the time."

Kirstie's face turned dark. "Take that back now you little rat," the teen snarled but Scott only poked his tongue out at her.

"Guys, aren't we missing the real issue here," Kevin interjected, trying to focus the two's attention again before a mini gang war broke out. "There's clearly something going on with Avi y'know. There's got to be a reason he never talks at school...and I think I know why," he proclaimed.

That grabbed their interest. "You do?", "What is it?" they were all ready to be captivated by what explanations their resident genius had come up with.

Kevin inhaled deeply and began, "This is just me theorising y'know, but I think for some reason it's the way he's been brought up. I think, and again this is just me spitballing, but I think his family might have some rule where they don't let him speak, or make any sort of noise y'know? Remember how scared he looked when he laughed?" he attested to them.

They all nodded.

"That was kind of unnerving," Mitch admitted. "He looked like he thought we were going to turn on him or something."

"Which is dumb! Everyone should be able to laugh. It's in our constitution." Scott crossed his arms, his drink dangerously close to squirting out the straw when he squeezed it in anger.

The older three all turned to look at him incredulously.  _Sometimes he comes out with the strangest and most unexpected of things._

"Yeah," Kevin continued, " and I was talking to him a few weeks ago, the same day he laughed come to think of it, well, y'know... I mean I was asking him questions and he was shaking or nodding his head," he informed them, picturing that conversation in his mind as if it were happening again, "and when I ask him if he talked at home he pulled this really weird face and didn't really answer and when I asked him if he had always not talked he said no. That's gotta mean that something happened, or is happening right now which is making him not wanna talk y'know?"

"Yeah, makes a creepy sort of sense kiddo," Mitch quietly agreed, and they were all silent as they thought about how much it would suck to be the oldest boy if that truly were the case.

Scott began blowing bubbles through his straw. "You worked all that out Kevo?"

"I mean it's pretty clear when you look at it from a certain angle," he humbly replied.

Kirstie tapped a long fingernail against her mouth, clearly pondering something. "Any chance that detective nose of yours could sniff out anything else about Avi?"

Kevin was surprised by the request, "Well Mr L said–"

"Who gives a fuck about what Mr L says?"

Mr L for the record, had told them all to mind their own business when it came to the older boy's issues.

"Hey, I do! He's cool," Scott argued, "but yeah Kevo, it'd be awesome if you could find out why he don't wanna do no talking or laughing with us."

"I'm not sure how..."

"You've got a cop in your family haven't you Kevin?" Mitch asked, "Stop it", he told Scott who was still messing about with his drink.

Kevin took his time with his reply, "Yeah..." he finally answered suspiciously. What exactly was Mitch expecting he could do? Yes it was true, his grandpa was a cop and a very experienced one, but he was no detective. Then again if there was even the slightest chance that Avi wasn't being treated right at home, surely that would warrant a visit to the boy's home.

_How would that happen though?_

Maybe he could drop a few subtle hints.  _Yeah, like I do before Christmas, so my grandparents know what I want without me directly telling them._  Avi wasn't a Christmas gift but the fundamentals of persuasion should work the same.

"Okay, I'll see what I can find." Kevin knew he could do this. It would take time, but hopefully it would be worth it.

"Yeah, this'll be fun!" Scott cheered.

"We'll probably find out he's some sort of alien sent from outer space to conduct a social experiment on how we humans react to someone completely silent."

Kirstie pulled a face at what Mitch just said. "You worry me sometimes, y'know that."

"But you love me all the same– oh Scott!" Mitch shouted as the youngest boy's drink eventually ended up spilling all over the both of them.

"Oops, sorry Mitchy." Now it was Scott's turn to look guilty as the older boy hurriedly tried to mop up the juice.

Kirstie tutted at the mess the blond had made. "And you're the future of The Strikers. My oh my, they must be in dire straits if they considered adding someone like you to their ranks," she sassed.

Scott just shot a glare up at her, a fake smile on his lips. "What is your problem recently?" he queried, sounding so much older than his years that it stunned Kirstie into shutting up for a while.

They stayed chatting, joking and arguing for a while before Kevin saw his grandpa pull up outside, and offered to give Mitch a ride home. The teen was a bit uncertain to leave Kirstie and Scott on their own, considering how much they had been ribbing each other that evening, but agreed when the two said they had to go in different directions to the subway they needed anyway.

In the car Mitch kept glancing between Mitch and his grandpa as if he expected Kevin to say something then and there to his old man, but the younger boy knew it was best to bide his time. Mr L had told them not to get involved; he'd never said anything about trying to get other adults involved. But Kevin knew he'd have to be careful if he didn't want to end up in deep trouble as well.

 


	22. Flip The Switch

**Warning: Descriptions of violence and child abuse**

_If you build the guts to do something, anything, then you better save enough to face the consequences. - Criss Jami, Killosophy_

**Sunday 20th January**

His ribs hurt. They were definitely bruised on both sides.

His finger hurt. The skin was ripped raw from him clawing to get away.

His jaw hurt. He could still taste the blood, like copper on his tongue.

Avi was stood in front of his bathroom mirror, meticulously trying to inspect the back of his bloodied mouth.

 _Good. All my teeth are still in place._  He would take small victories where he could get them.

It had been a while since the beatings had been this bad, but Avi blatantly walking back yesterday with bags full of clothes of his own choice - from his new found favourite stores - had been the last straw for his father. The teen counted himself lucky that the phone had rung just as the man started to get carried away in his punishment. Avi had no desire to have his hand smashed against the burning hob. That blinding pain was unlike any other and one that had not been inflicted on him since he was tiny and being punished for crying in public.

He had escaped to his room - escape was a poor choice of words, his father could enter any time he liked - but the rest of his night was quiet, with the man obviously consumed by some business matter. Most likely the Emerson deal. That was old business that had made his father a hell of a lot of money by ruining the lives of hundreds of innocent, hard working folk. Avi thought that deal was done and dusted but recently he had heard whisperings that a case may be opened by the police if they got enough evidence.

It was unlikely his own father would get in any trouble - he hated the man but couldn't deny he was an expert at covering his tracks - but it put a smile on his face to see the men in suits getting so rattled by the police sniffing about.

Avi had gone to sleep early that night after popping a couple of pain meds. It was safer that way; his father liked to have a coherent son if he was going to pummel him, so rarely woke him up to do so. That meant he had woken early and gave him time to assess the damage before his official day started. There was an event he was expected to attend with his father. Something to do with a charity, which involved a lot of rich men drinking champagne and being told how wonderful they were for helping the starving African's. Avi would bet his right hand that they were all making money out of the event somehow.

After washing the bitter taste out of his mouth and cleaning the tips of his fingers for splinters, he sat back down on his king size bed.

_What to wear today?_

He would be required to wear a suit to the charity event, which Avi was not against. He enjoyed dressing up now and again, especially before, when he had only wore the same dull old clothes every day. Now though things were different. He had gone against convention and been wearing clothes of his choice since Christmas. Let's say it had been a Christmas gift to himself.

Surprisingly his father had not taken much of his anger out physically on him save for last night, opting to just verbally abuse the boy whenever he was around. Buying all those clothes at once and confidently walking past the man was a stupid mistake but there had been a sale on!

_God I'm sounding like Mitch. It's not like I want for money._

Back to the matter at hand. They would be required to leave in roughly four hours so that meant he might as well get suited up now to save him having to change again later. It would be dangerous to piss his father off even more, but it was one of the small pleasures Avi could get at home, before obviously he would be kicked to the ground. He needn't worry about that until later. The man would be too busy getting ready himself and worrying about the event to focus too much energy on him this morning.

 _Yeah, this'll do fine,_  Avi thought, as he picked out a jacket, shirt, and skinny jeans that were sure to have his father reeling in horror. He smiled at that little image.

Once he was all dressed up he sat back down on his bed and closed his eyes, mentally preparing himself for the day. Day's like this were never too bad. All Avi would be expected to do was eat the food he was given, stay awake during the many speeches, and try not to look too grumpy in the photos with his father. But still, he could still think of a million other ways he'd rather spend his day; going to Chipotle being one of them.

He thought back to last Wednesday and the fool he'd made of himself in class. All they'd been asking was to simply spend a few hours with them and he had ran off like they were asking him to take part in some sacrifice.

_But I couldn't explain it to them. How could I tell them that my father would crack the whip if I wasn't back at the normal time?_

Wearing different clothes was one thing, but not complying to his father's strict schedule would have deadly consequences.

_I didn't have to run out like such a freak though. I could have walked out completely calmly and just pretended I had something important on._

But Avi knew why he had run out. It was because he had been dangerously close to saying yes and enjoying one evening of freedom and dealing with his father later. But seventeen years of abuse does something to a boy, and when they had started chanting his name the two sides of him had begun fighting against each other; one begging him to stay and the other warning him to flee.

Eventually the two fighting emotions had just erupted into him charging out of the door like he was being chased by the devil himself. Flight not fight. That had always been Avi. Put up or shut up.

His thoughts travelled back to a different memory, a happier one. The time Kirstie had come up to him and offered him the first bite of the cute little gingerbread she had decorated. It had been completely unexpected but somehow Avi had managed to maintain his cool and not acted like a complete fool in front of her.

He had even made her laugh, even if she had called him a dork. She insulted Mitch and Scott on the daily but it was done with affection. That was just Kirstie. A foul mouth but one which was never cruel.

Oh he was pretty sure she had used her words cruelly to get herself out of tricky situations but Avi understood, she was just trying to survive like he was.

Some days she just looked so sad and so stressed. The day she had brought in more gingerbread as an apology, the glint in her eyes had been one of despair. She never said anything though. She would try to hide it - and she was damn good at hiding -  by acting tough or saying she was bored but Avi could see right through her. He wished he could be of some comfort. To let her know she was not alone in being forced into a life she didn't want to live.

His life own was planned out for him the day he was born. He was going to be working for his father and his associates until they died or retired. Then he would be expected to take over and Avi had a feeling that by then, he would be too much a shell of a person to know how to do anything else.

Maybe he could send her a note? _Ha, if Kevin ever found out he'd never let me live it down._ But how else could he reach out to her?

Avi's thoughts were suddenly interrupted when he heard his door swing open, violently crashing into a nearby desk. A ferocious figure stood in the doorway, breathing heavily like a rampant bull and leaning precariously against the wall. 

His father had not changed his clothes since last night and Avi could smell the reeking stench of alcohol already and see his red rimmed eyes.

_Oh fuck. Has he been drinking all night? What was he thinking? He's got to make a speech today!_

Intoxicated and still swaying, the man took one look at what his son was wearing and completely lost it.

"WHAT are you wearing? he yelled, advancing clumsily to the prone boy on the bed. Avi had no answer, as always. He was confused as to why his father was so drunk at this hour when they had to be leaving soon and he was scared just how far off the rails the man might go now.

He barely registered being pushed to the floor, or his father undoing his belt and getting the plastic ties he always kept on his person out, to bind his son's hands behind his back. Avi heard first rather than felt the sickening crack of his little finger snapping backwards but the white light of pain that followed soon after brought tears to his eyes.

_I will not cry. I will not cry._

"You are and always will be a good for nothing piece of shit!" the man continued to scream, his spit landing on the back of Avi's neck.

As the hits got increasingly harder and his ribs screamed in agony, there was only one thing Avi could focus on through his bleary eyes. The drawing Scott had done for him; tucked away in a corner at the back of his room - having it in the window at purely been for the photo - but in that moment, it reminded him of something.

_This is not my only life._

"You do realise you're nothing without me  _boy_."

He focused on the cartoon Avi; who had a big smile on his face and was riding a really cool dragon, he looked at Scott, Kevin and Mitch; weird and wonderful creatures, and he looked at the princess Kirstie; who appeared to be flipping everyone off and was thoroughly enjoying doing so. Avi laughed at that.

"What the fuck are you laughing at?" his father slurred. "I can keep going at this until there's nothing left of you!"

Avi didn't doubt that. He felt the lashings get harder, and his back slicker as the belt cut through his clothes and into his skin. He kept on staring at the drawing of Kirstie, who even in cartoon form was looking at him with those daring and confident cat-like eyes. And for the first time Avi felt something other than fear, defeat and numbers while he took his beating. Avi felt angry.

_This is not my only life._

What gave his father the right to dictate what he wore? They were his clothes that he had bought with the money he was given for sorting out the business paperwork. Why should he care what this man thought or did to him when the only people he truly cared about were those he always saw in that tiny little classroom.

_This is not my only life!_

Scott didn't care what clothes he wore, Kevin didn't care if Avi liked keeping up with baseball or football more than finances; even Mitch - who chose his friends with care and precision - gave Avi a friendly smile every morning and Mr L was one of the few teachers who didn't make him feel like he was a waste of time. And then Kirstie...Kirstie. The supposed bad girl who went out of her way to talk to him and make him feel involved with everyone else.

_My friends._

They were his friends. For once he had other people other than the father currently beating him and for once Avi saw his life was not set in stone.

And the next time the rough leather dug into him something in his mind flipped, like a switch bringing light to a long darkened room. And again he felt something build up inside of him.

And he took a deep breath.

And he clenched his fists tightly.

And he opened his mouth.

 


	23. First Words

_When you study great teachers... you will learn much more from their caring and hard work than from their style. - William Glasser_

**Monday 21st January**

Jeremy swore that he was going to buy the heaviest padlock one day and lock that damn storage cupboard up forever, preferably with all the kids trapped in there.

This morning it was the two youngest boy's who were spending their time in the cupboard, likely stuffing their faces with sweets if what Kirstie said was true. He had tried to catch them in the act a couple of times but one of them must have always been keeping lookout through the keyhole.

Of course Jeremy knew he could always lock the cupboard but didn't fancy dealing with the unstoppable riot afterwards. Some things could just not be changed.

Before he had to shout at them to get out, Scott emerged from the cupboard and a second later there was a very loud crash.

"Kevin..." the young teacher groaned.

"Scott did it!" Kevin yelled like it was a reflex.

"Scott's in here."

There was a pause as the young boy clearly tried to think of his next move. "Oh...um, hang on!"

Scott grinned cheekily at Jeremy as they heard a lot of muffled rustlings coming from behind the door. Jeremy shook his head at him in disapproval. He'd go and assess any damage later.

The blond boy sat himself at a desk as far from Kirstie as possible - recently the two had been particularly going out of their way to goad each other into an argument, for reasons still unknown to Jeremy - and looked around in confusion.

"Where's Mitchy?" he asked, clearly expecting to find the teen here already.

"I don't know Scott, he'll turn up soon I'm sure."

"But he always arrives before me!"

It was true, it was strange. Mitch was never usually this late. Quite the contrary, his arrival time had been greatly improving to being nearly on time every day.

Jeremy checked his watch, "If he doesn't come in by half nine I'll give his mom a call."

"She won't answer. You know that."

That was most likely true but Jeremy saw no reason to worry too much just yet. He was in regular contact with Lottie, the professional Mitch had been speaking to at the hospital, and while she revealed nothing of their private conversations, she had promised to let Jeremy know if she had any concerns Mitch had gone downhill.

After a few more bangs and rustlings, a certain eleven year old reappeared looking quite frazzled.

"Care to tell me what that was all about Kevin?"

"No," Kevin curtly replied. "I was just tidying up is all," he explained when Jeremy gave him a warning look at his rude reply.

Scott raised his hand. "Mr L, we should probably go and look for Mitch," he insisted.

"No, you should probably stay here and do your work young man."

"But that's not fair!"

Jeremy sighed. It was never an easy day when his two most hyper students were in their talk-back moods. Eating sweets this early probably wasn't helping with their behaviour either.

"Scott, I'm sure Mitch'll turn up later," he tried to reassure the blond.

The boy wasn't having any of it. "I'm gonna leave and you can't stop me!" he proclaimed, standing up with his bag and making his way to the door.

As much as Jeremy was ecstatic that Mitch and Scott seemed to have formed such a strong friendship recently, there was no way he was having two rogue children that morning.

"Sit back down Scott," he ordered.

The youngster however, uncharacteristically ignored all his warnings and Jeremy was getting ready to give chase if he got any further to the exit when the door opened suddenly and Avi returned, having made a trip to the school office to sort something with his exams.

Seeing Scott preparing to march himself out of the door and hearing Jeremy's protests, the teen stopped right in the doorway, therefore blocking the youngest's route.

Still acting out of character, Scott glared at the eldest teen. "Get out of my way Avi," he snapped.

Avi made no movement and fixed the boy with a dominant stare, almost daring him to try and get past.  _Well that's new. Usually even Scott can intimidate that boy._  The youngster huffed and made to scurry around the older boy but he was stopped short before he could get out and Avi practically dragged him kicking back into the room.

The other three were shocked by this recent turn of events. One: they had never seen Scott act up so bad before and two: Avi had never so much initiated any form of physical contact with anyone (apart from that one time Kevin had ended up in a toy basket) let alone deal with a struggling nine year old.

"Scott calm down," Jeremy tried to order, unsure if the strict or sympathetic approach was best right now, as the youngest grew more enraged the longer he was held in the oldest's surprisingly strong grip.

"C'mon dude, leave it," Kevin pleaded, but still to no avail.

"If you don't stop acting like a brat I'll pull my twenty two out on you," Kirstie threatened and Jeremy pointed his finger at her in objection at her remark.

 _Don't you dare bring that talk into the classroom young lady,_  he glared.

In the meantime, Avi was still left struggling with the wriggling and shouting boy, who had now begun to try and aim kicks in the teen's general direction. One of these kicks eventually made contact, and although there was no way the little boy could inflict that much damage it still made the other wince.

Avi looked sternly down at a heavily breathing, red-in-the-face Scott, who was having a break from his escape attempts and locked eyes with him.

"Stop it."

...

The room went silent.

So quiet you could hear a pin drop; it was like everyone had forgotten how to breathe.

"Y'wha–?" Scott finally managed to blurt out, his face a mirror of Jeremy's. Astounded, confused, and slowly turning delighted.

"You talked!" Kevin was the first to state the obvious.

Scott was still staring up, open-mouthed at Avi, his earlier wish to escape completely vanished. "Your voice is  _so deep_ ," he said in awe as he allowed the boy to lead him back to his desk.

Jeremy would have laughed at the boy's observation but he too was astonished by the incredibly low pitch the once silent boy had produced. The teacher didn't know what he'd been expecting but the voice like the guy who says "coming out soon" in the movie theatres had not been one of his top guesses.

Avi looked confused for a moment, as if only now realising that yes indeed, his voice was pretty deep.

_Surely that's not normal for a seventeen year old? Well, I guess it would be if he hardly exercises it._

"Maybe it's because you haven't used it for so long," Kirstie echoed his exact thoughts. "I like it though. It suits you," she smiled softly, trying to act all cool, yet it was clear she was just as excited as they all were to finally hear Avi's voice.

The teen returned to his shy self at the compliment and lowered his head. Kirstie seemed disappointed by this but still Jeremy could barely stop himself from grinning like a manic idiot. "Why are you deciding to talk now, if you don't mind me asking Avi?"

There was a moment of dread when they thought that was all they were going to hear but thankfully the boy regained the use of tongue. "Because...I want to," he stuttered out slowly. The boy was clearly still in no mood to be jumping into heavy conversations right away, but that was fine.

 _Baby steps, baby steps. We'll get there eventually. I know we will._  He just had to be patient. This was a massive break through with the teen and Jeremy didn't want to mess it up now.

After the other three had brought a blush to Avi's face by trying to imitate the deepness of his voice Kevin asked, "What happened to your finger Avi?" He pointed too, alerting Jeremy to the boy's heavily wrapped index finger on his right hand that he'd somehow missed earlier.

"I broke it. Don't worry, I can still write," Avi responded robotically, simple sentences still coming out awkwardly.

"How?" Kevin continued to pester him.

"Playing tennis."

"You play tennis?"

"Sometimes."

"Where?"

"At home."

"You have a tennis court at home?"

"Yes."

Kevin's eyes grew wide. "Wow. You must be really rich like Mitchy said!"

"Mmm," Avi was clearly growing tired from all this unpracticed conversation and Jeremy stepped in to save him.

"Alright guys that's enough chat for now. Let's get on with work," he instructed. "And Avi?"

The teen turned his gaze him, expecting more interrogation, but Jeremy simply smiled and nodded.

_I'm proud of you kid._

Avi seemed to be able to read his mind as he returned with a nod of thanks, getting his stuff out for work just like any other day. This was the best course of action, Jeremy thought. No need to make a song and dance about Avi's "first words", that would only make him retreat more into his shell. Instead, he was going to make sure that everyone allowed the boy all the time and space he needed in order to become a more confident individual.

He noticed Kirstie hovering around Avi's desk for a bit, looking as if she were trying to catch his attention, but the older boy kept his gaze firmly on his books and after a while she left him be.

He looked at the clock.  _Right, still no Mitch? Might as well start the lesson._

Even though he had calmed down and was now quite excited about Avi and his "awesome Darth Vader voice", Scott still looked visibly worried about the missing boy. "What about Mitchy?" he asked Jeremy with big, sad eyes and the young man was suddenly reminded that the memory of that day in the bathroom was still very vivid in the nine year old's mind. Hell that was still a frightful memory for Jeremy; he could hardly blame Scott for getting so worked up earlier.

He had just been caught off guard earlier with Scott because with any of the others he probably would have been able to diffuse the situation quicker, but Scott was usually the "golden child", who would do as he was told by at least the third time of telling him.

_I guess that changes if he thinks there might be something up with his friends._

"I promise I will call around if he doesn't turn up soon," he vowed to his youngest.

Scott still didn't look entirely satisfied with that answer but didn't kick up any more fuss. "Okay Mr L," he mumbled quietly.

After he had each set them their individual work, something that was commonplace in his lessons now, even though it meant more work for Jeremy himself. All the other teachers had told him it was crazy and he shouldn't bother but as far as Jeremy saw, it was his only option. It meant that he would be absolutely exhausted by the time the weekend arrived but it also meant each of his kids could focus on their weaknesses and improve on them. With this in mind, he made one last trip back to Avi.

"Now that we're on speaking terms I can ask you if the work I've been giving you is helpful for your exams." That was the only thing that had been nagging him the whole time the boy had been silent.

Luckily the teen just nodded. "Yes it has been. Thank you Mr Lewis," he answered in his deep monotone voice.  _That is definitely going to take some getting used to._

"Good, that's good," Jeremy replied, relieved. "Oh, and Avi?"

The boy gazed up at his teacher.

"You can call me Mr L. I mean, if you want I...I just...yeah."  _Words, why?_

Despite his confusing offer, Avi smiled one of his real smiles and gratefully nodded once more.

"Okay...Mr L."


	24. Cold Callers And Pokemon

_Perhaps it takes courage to raise children.. - John Steinbeck, East of Eden_

**Thursday 1st February/ Friday 2nd February**

Only one more chapter and he would finally be done with the damn hamster. Scott was curled up on his couch, currently reading through the last few pages of 'The World According to Humphrey'. It had only taken him nearly five months to read, unlike the few weeks most kids his age would take.

He couldn't feel too disheartened though. It was the first ever non-picture book he would finish on his own and no one was going to take that sense of pride away from him. Just as he got to the final chapter there was a loud knock on the door. His mom was in the bathroom so reluctantly Scott figured it was up to him to answer it.

Groaning loudly as he heaved himself out of his comfortable spot on the couch, he padded to the door, while wondering who on earth would be knocking at five o'clock. Things didn't usually get noisy until a lot later.

Opening the door Scott had to crane his neck back to see a lady dressed in a grey suit jacket and skirt, with her hair tightly pinned back and clipboard in hand. The clothes alone were enough indication to tell Scott she wasn't from the high rises and he was surprised that she hadn't already been mugged dressed like she was. 

_Whatever her reasons are for being here, she must be very stupid to come to this neighbourhood._

"Hello, is your mom or dad in?" she asked, bending down to speak in his face. She looked flustered.

"Well, my dad's dead."

The lady stood up straight and looked even more flustered. "Oh sorry...and your mom?" she queried, fiddling with the papers on her clipboard.

"She's sitting on the toilet," Scott answered, with all the shameless honesty a nine year old naturally possesses.

The suit lady fidgeted some more with her clipboard. "Right, um, do you think she'll be long?"

"Well she can be very long but...do you want money?" he asked, suddenly wary.

"Oh no no no, I'm here to  _save_  your mommy money," the woman put on her best saleswoman voice for the suspicious little boy in front of her.

Scott opened his mouth to interrogate her some more when he saw movement down the hall.

"Hi Scooter!" a young girl waved at him as she and her dad left their apartment.

Scott ran from his doorway so he was a bit further down the hall, barrelling past the suit lady. "Hi Lexy!" he shouted back. He had been in the same class as the girl in school up until his current year. Lexy was badass.

" _She_  knocked on our door too," the little girl accused. "My daddy says people like her should be shot," Lexy told him, giving the woman an evil glare.

Scott nodded seriously. "My mom is sitting on the toilet!" he told her.

Lexy laughed, unfazed by that statement, this type of conversation being the norm for kids their age. "Bye!" she called out as her dad dragged her through the stairwell door and Scott waved his own farewell. After that interesting conversation was done with, the boy turned back around to face the suit lady, who unfortunately had still not moved.

"So, do you want money or not?" he asked her again.

The woman took a deep breath, "I'm here to save your mommy money by combining her internet and telephone access through fibre optic technology!" Her voice getting increasingly higher with every word she spoke.

Scott was not impressed.  _Is this lady on drugs?_

"Who is it Scott?" his mom called out from their apartment.

"It's some...person, trying to sell...cyber optic technology thingy," he shouted back, giving the lady a strange sidelong look when she tried to correct him.

"Tell her we're not interested." his mom bellowed, presumably still on the toilet.

Scott did as he was instructed, turning to the woman who was still only standing a foot from him. "We're not interested," he said in his most grown up voice, hoping she'd get the message.

"But it's a really good deal, it–" she began babbling.

"Tell them to go away!" his mom shouted out again and Scott once more relayed the message.

"Go away," he said firmly, not wanting to sound rude, but making it clear he'd had enough of her. He really wanted to find out how that book ended.

"It's just that I need to make a sale–"

_She just can't take a hint can she?_

"Well I mean you can always try rich people houses instead of high rises," he informed her. Maybe if he helped her she would go?

"But I really can give you a much better–"

"What about 44th street? There's loads of old people. They're a bit crazy in the head like most old people are, so they'll buy  _anything_." He pointed towards her clipboard, assuming that was the actual item she was selling. "Or maybe you should y'know...make some drinks, and say 'here! have a drink!', or just bake some cakes or cookies and then say 'would you like a cookie? Get a free cookie if you buy my...the internet thing.'"

"It would help you save money throughout the year–"

"Well we don't wanna buy it," Scott whined, resisting the urge to stamp his foot in this situation, reminding himself that he should act the mature one seeing as this lady wasn't prepared to.

"But it really is a good deal–"

"Look!" the little blond exclaimed, "I just think you need to get better at this job and, well...I'm fed up so I'm going to go."

With that said and done, he marched back into his apartment and slammed the door shut before the silly lady had time to say anything more. He leaned back against the wood, weary from the tiresome conversation he'd just had to put up with, as his mom walked back into the room, finally finished with whatever she was doing. It was "that time of the month" as she always called it.

"Scott, can you  _not_  tell strangers that I'm on the toilet," she requested, looking displeased.

"But you are!"

"Yeah okay, but tell them...tell them I'm busy or something."

"But you weren't busy! You were just sitting there, only your butt was busy," Scott reminded her.

His mom groaned, giving in. She knew if she didn't drop it then this debate could go on for hours. Even though she was extremely glad she hadn't had to deal with the cold caller herself she supposed her son's rather rude reaction called for some kind of reprimand.

"And there was no need to slam the door in her face like that," she continued to lecture him.

Her boy just threw his arms up in frustration, "But she wouldn't listen! Like all grown ups...except Mr L," he declared, walking sulkily back to the couch.

"I listen to you!"

"Yeah I guess, but you're never here."

His mom's face fell. "Y'know I wish more than anything sweetheart that I was."

"Then why aren't you?" This was what always confused Scott the most. "I can be better," he tried.

His mom rushed to be in front of him, kneeling on the floor. "Scotty baby," she grabbed his face in her hands. "Don't you ever for a second think that me not being here is your fault. Don't you dare, you hear me?" she whispered, before planting multiple kisses on his forehead.

"Mom!" the boy squealed, giggling and wriggling out of her hold.

His mom didn't let him get away that easily, wrapping him in a tight hug. "Repeat after me Scott. I am an angel child. My mom's problems are not my fault."

"I am a little rascal child but my mom's problems are not my fault," he responded with a smirk. "That good enough?"

His mom grinned back at him, a mirror of his own signature smile. "It'll do." She gave his head one last kiss and stood up. "Scrambled egg on toast good for you sweetheart?"

"Always!" Having food to eat in the evening was never bad news for Scott.

His mom started to prepare the meal getting the small amount of food out of her bag. "Why are you a little rascal then? What sort of mischief have you been up to?" she questioned him as he climbed up onto the bar stool.

Scott shrugged, "S'just what Mr L calls me."

_I like it. I'm the only one he calls that._

His mom pulled a face. "Is your teacher allowed to call you that?"

"Mr L does what Mr L wants cos he's awesome," and the blond truly meant it. His teacher this year was almost the most awesome person ever after his mom and Mitch.

"I'll take your word for that," the young woman chuckled.

As he watched his mom heat up the eggy mixture in the frying pan and put bread in the toaster he suddenly took note of something.

"Aren't you eating?" he asked, looking at the little amount of food she was preparing.

"Oh, I ate earlier," his mom replied without missing a beat but that didn't fool Scott. She probably could only afford enough for eggs just for him, or maybe that's all that had been available at the food bank she could sometimes visit, but there was at least a whole loaf of bread.

"Why don't you have some toast?"

"I'm full darling," she replied so convincingly that it almost made Scott want to believe her, but he knew in his heart that she was lying.

He kicked his feet idly against the kitchen counter, listening to the sounds outside gradually get more intense, until the loud music and the shouts started making their thin walls vibrate. His mom set his small meal down in front of him and took the seat opposite, rolling her eyes when Michael began playing some very obnoxious rap song next door. And people would have the audacity to blame her when her son began using swear words around the same time he learned to talk in full sentences.

Her boy had nearly finished and bent down to lick the plate. She shook her fist in pretend anger but would never actually tell him off for it. Once he was done licking the china and his lips for every possible morsel, Scott laid his head on the counter and gazed up at her.

"Kirstie always calls me little rat at school," he let her know.

"That's not very nice."

The little blond smiled slightly and shrugged. "I wish I was a rat."

His mom tilted her head at him. "Is that so?"

"Yeah, if I was a rat, I would always have friends around."

She smiled. "You would make a  _very_  handsome rat."

"Y'know the best thing about being a rat?" he asked, leaning forward.

She leant forward also. "Tell me," she coaxed, as if the answer were the most important thing in the world.

Scott beamed. "If we were hungry, we'd just eat stuff outta the trash, and we wouldn't be hungry no more," he informed her.

The young woman looked conflicted for a moment, but afterwards stood up and walked round behind her son. "Don't worry, as long as we're together, something good is going to happen," she whispered, hugging him once again. "One day I promise we will be stuffing ourselves fuller than any rat."

Scott couldn't see that happening any time soon bet let his mom have her moment all the same. Leaning back into her arms he inquired, "Y'know Mitch?"

He felt his mom nod her head, "I think you may have mentioned him once or twice."

"He keeps missing school." 

"It's not that unusual is it?" The school wasn't exactly known for it's impeccable attendance record.

"He always used to turn up to school."

It was true. All the kids in his class had unexpectedly attended nearly every day of school. But now, for the past week and a half, Mitch's attendance had been sporadic to say the least. The day Avi had said his first words, the teen had arrived at lunch saying he'd slept in. Scott had believed him then, and Mitch had been so excited like the rest of them to find out Avi was now speaking that Scott assumed he wouldn't miss any more days.

However, the very next day he simply didn't turn up at all. After multiple phone calls and voicemails, Mr L had eventually got through to Mitch's mom who told him that she thought her son had gone to school as normal. Mr L couldn't really do anything more than mark Mitch as absent, despite Scott's protests. As a result, the youngster hadn't been unable to concentrate at all that day, in fear the Mitch was in trouble or hurt.

Then Wednesday had come and the teen had walked through the door with absolutely no explantation as to where he had been the day before except for he "didn't see the need in turning up that day". It was hard to say who was more annoyed by that response, Mr L or Scott.

"Does he like school?" his mom asked.

There was a time Scott would have replied yes instantly, but now he wasn't so sure. "I don't know," he began hesitantly, "but he likes me and Kirstie! And Kevin most of the time, and everyone likes Avi even more now he talks!"

Avi still barely said anything but everyday he was getting more confident. His voice was still super duper low though!

"I thought it was Kevin who didn't talk."

Scott laughed. "No. Kevin talks  _too_  much."

_I wish Mitch came back to tell him to stop when he annoys me too much. He always knows what to say. What is the matter with him? Why won't he tell me?_

"Mom?" he quietly asked, spinning round to face her but still wrapped in her arms.

"Yes sweetheart?"

"If you thought someone was in trouble, a really really really good friend, would you help them?"

His mom paused, but then replied, "Of course."

"Even if it meant you might get in trouble?"

The woman ruffled her sons hair. "If doing the right thing means you might get in trouble, that's up to you to decide. Making smart decisions is what keeps you alive in our world Scotty...He's not gang affiliated is he?" she queried quickly.

"Who? Mitch?" The idea of Mitch getting involved in gangs was the most ridiculous thought ever. "No never! He hates all that stuff." If there was one thing Mitch was not missing school for, it was gang affairs.

"Well then, I like him," his mom added.

"I do too," Scott whole-heartedly agreed.

He was silent while he thought about what he should do to help Mitch. Maybe if he found the older boy on a day when he was skipping school, he would be able to find out what the problem was. The young boy was so deep in thought that he didn't even notice his mom had picked him up, until she sat down with him on the couch.

His immediate thought was to grab his book again and it made his mom smile in delight that her son was so dedicated in improving his reading skills.

"I am so proud of you for nearly finishing that," she praised, shifting so she could have one arm around her boy's shoulders as he stuck his nose back into the worn pages.

Scott sighed, "I've got to finish it tonight. Cos Mr L has to return all the books tomorrow so we can get new ones."

"Scotty?"

He turned straight away at his mom's tentative tone of voice. She sounded almost vulnerable, which was strange. His mom was the strongest person in the world!

"I can...I can read it to you if you want."

_Oh! I thought you were going to tell me something really horrible had happened!_

"Isn't it your bedtime now though?" His mom usually went to sleep as early as she could if she was going to be awake by five.

His mom smiled, gently running her fingers through his hair. "Yeah...but I've always thought sleep was overrated."

"Then I say that'd be awesome!" No one had read to him in forever! He knew he was probably too old for it - he was nearly an adult now after all - but there was no way he was about to turn his mom down on her generous offer.

And so, with his mom reading the final chapter, and helping him get ready for bed, they were both tucked in by half nine. All they had was the old mattress, moth ridden blankets and lumpy pillows; but in his mom's arms, Scott had never felt more content. When he woke early, she was already gone but he was left in a good mood from one of the best nights sleep he'd had in a long while.

With his spirits lifted, Scott knew what he had to do today and, with the best of luck, he'd have his Mitchy back by the end of the day.

_I just hope Mr L doesn't get too angry at me._

That might be wishful thinking though. For today, Scott was planning to do something very naughty. He was going to skip school too. It was something he'd never even dreamed of doing before, but desperate times called for desperate measures.

First step: wait. He needed to make sure Mitch was definitely missing the whole school day so he wouldn't be missing his lessons for nothing, and no matter how much Scott would love to see the look on Mr L's face to see him arrive on time, he knew he was going to have to waste some time.

He knocked at Michael's apartment. There was no reply but the door was ajar. Peaking his head round, Scott discovered his neighbour passed out in the kitchen snoring quietly, a bottle of vodka in his hand.

The little boy huffed out a quiet laugh.  _Typical Ruski. Russians always think they can hold their drink better than they actually can._

He bent down to pry the drink from the man's limp fingers and started to lift it towards his own lips, stopping at the last second.  _What am I doing?_  He put the bottle back down and fetched the cleanest looking shot class he could find.  _There ain't no way I'm catching nothing nasty from you Michael._  He poured a small amount into the glass and downed it like a pro. Unbeknownst to his mom, Michael had been sharing his drinks with Scott for years, and before that his dad always let him have a sip of his beer if a match was on.

He kicked about in Michael's flat for a good three hours, tidying the place up a bit and playing a game he called "let's find all the hidden drugs". The hungover man eventually woke up to chase the kid out of his apartment, threatening to throw him out the window the next time he saw him messing about with his weed.

That actually happened at the perfect time for Scott to finally head to school and he waited, hidden outside the gates, until it was busy enough for him to slip through the crowds unnoticed. The last thing he needed was for Kevin to spot him and ruin his plan. The blond made his way across the yard and into the main registration area. His school had one area purely reserved for students to sign in; massive log books, one for each year, and each again sectioned into groups A-E, F-K, L-S and T-Z depending on the students surname.

 _Proves how much money this school needs_ , he thought, if they couldn't afford to get everything computerised. The young boy made his way to the ninth grade book and flipped to the right section.

"Grassi, Grassi, Grassi," he murmured, scanning his finger down the pages.

_C'mon where are you?_

There was nothing. Mitch had not gone to school today. As much as the teen not turning up had been part of his plan, there was still a part of Scott that was wishing he had. He really wanted to just go to his lessons.

_Oh well, time to step up my game. Mitchy I'm coming for you._

Lastly, Scott made sure to hand the hamster book back to the right lady and then he once again left the school premises without any objection from anyone, taking the subway to the centre of the city. He knew which one of the fast food joints Mitch worked in the touristy section, so headed there first. It was why the boy was always so busy, there was a never-ending flow of customers.

He checked Mitch's workplace out but the guy at the counter told him his friend had been arriving at the normal time recently. So that ruled out work being the reason that was keeping him away.

 _Dammit_ , that had been his first choice.

The next couple of hours, Scott grew more stressed and more angry as he wandered the streets, searching every possible area he though Mitch might be. The boy's favourite shops, the record store, the old arthouse cinema, even the dodgy bar owned by the guy Mitch was able to get his cigarettes from, and whose son had given him that cool mousy looking tattoo.

Nothing. Zilch. Nada. Mitch was no where to be found.

_Maybe I got it completely wrong? Maybe Mitch is, I dunno, taking trips out of the city or something. Maybe he's gone to the pier or the woods?_

Still, Scott couldn't quite see Mitch going that far. As independent as he was he knew the boy would have to be pretty upset to venture that far from home, and from what he'd seen, his friend's mood hadn't been that bad. No, he'd just been distant.

By four o'clock all Scott wanted to do was scream at everyone in the street and demand they tell him where his friend was. His feet hurt and he was hungry. Missing school not only meant he missed his friends, but he missed the food Mr L would always get for him.

Just as he was gearing up to head home and write an apology note to his teacher, something caught his eye as he rounded the corner. It was a store.

 _That's weird_. Not the store itself, but the fact he had been distracted by it. Usually he thought clothes stores were the most boring thing on earth and would pull a face when Kirstie and Mitch would have long conversations about fashion, but with this one, he felt compelled to go inside. 

Stepping in though the big glass doors, he was met with the sounds of the local radio station and smells of pinewood and freshly cut grass.

What was most awesome about this shop though, and what had caught his eye were the clothes themselves. They were awesome. They were all brightly coloured and cool looking and very, very expensive Scott realised when he checked the price tags.

He sighed. There was no point him being in here. No way in a million years would he ever be able to buy any of this stuff...unless he joined The Strikers of course, but then he had made a promise to Mitchy. No matter how upset Scott was with the boy right now, there was no way he could go back on that deal. The little blond was a man of his word.

He was heading back outside when another object grabbed his attention. It was a hat. But not just any hat. It was possibly the coolest snapback Scott had ever seen, for it was covered all over in pokemon.

_Aw wow! That is so cool!_

Scott felt himself drawn to the hat, almost like it was magnetic. In that moment there was nothing more in the world the nine year old wanted than that hat.

And then Scott did something very bad. Even worse than skipping school. He checked to make sure their were no security guards outside and inspected the doors to find they just had a simple alarm system. That would cause no problem for him and if anyone did give chase he knew he could lose them within seconds. Even though he didn't know this area of the city quite like the back of his hand he was small, quick, and could think on his feet, just like that guy from The Strikers told him.

The next few minutes were all a bit of a blur. One moment Scott had been standing near the exit, the next he had been making a grab for the hat and charging through the doors, angry shouts behind him. Now, a block away and out of breath he was free from being chased and up one hat.

Laughing gleefully at how clever he had been, the young boy began bouncing along the sidewalk with joy, so caught up in his excitement and pumped full with adrenaline, he failed to notice a figure come up behind him.

All of a sudden, he was spun harshly round and came face to face with his stalker. His body and face stiffened in panic for a second at the ambush but then it very quickly turned into anger.

"You!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Credit again to Guy Jenkins for some of that cold caller dialogue!


	25. Happy Little Pills

_You can keep as quiet as you like, but one of these days somebody is going to find you. - Haruki Murakami, 1Q84_

**That Same Day...**

Really, Mitch figured he could blame it all on Lottie. It really was her fault that he made this next big step in his life. For a while now she had been dropping hints that maybe the time had come that Mitch should quit taking his mom's pills.

He had outright refused at first. He'd been taking them for so long that dropping that part of his routine seemed immensely frightening to the young teen. It was around eight months since he had first began self medicating. Back then he had been stupid enough to take them into school, which was why he had ended up in the supported learning class in the first place.

In a funny way, those pills had done him a lot of good, because he ended up with Mr L and four other kids who had accepted him for who he was. That was why he couldn't let them see him like this. The Mitch they had somehow grown to like was not the same Mitch when he was trying to get off the pills.

To tell the truth Mitch didn't know what he had been expecting when he first stopped taking his dose in the morning. They had little to no effect on him anymore - they were just a habit - so why should getting rid of them make him feel any different? Oh boy how wrong he had been.

The first day he had stopped taking them he had felt just the same.  _This is gonna be easy_ , he had naively thought. It was when he was on the school bus, just before it arrived that he began to feel a shift in his mood. He felt his anxiety levels go through the roof, suddenly self-conscious that everyone on the bus was laughing at him. He felt dizzy, almost out of control of his body.

When the bus pulled up outside the school and all the kids rushed to get off, Mitch felt as if there were huge chains weighing him down to the seat. Only when the driver started shouting at him to get off, did he regain some control of his legs and managed to stumble off.

Later that day he had said something to Kevin that almost made the boy cry and Mitch had felt like the worst person in the world. Upsetting the eleven year old was worse than kicking a litter of puppies.

So Mitch made the decision the next day, when he skipped his dose again, to miss school completely. It wasn't any better than the day before. The dizziness came in waves and if any person so much as glanced at him, he felt as if they were judging him.

He took to wondering the streets near his place of work; it was better here than going to school and there was no way he was staying in his depressing house any longer than necessary. No, the streets were best even if he got strange looks when he randomly started crying. His friends and teacher couldn't see him like this, weak and pathetic, and it wouldn't do his mom any good to see her son breaking down when she struggled holding herself together on a daily basis.

He used the cover of being a typical rebel teenager just skipping school, and kept that cover up by going in on the days he took the pills, although those days were getting fewer and fewer as he eased himself off them, and Mitch could tell his classmates were annoyed and confused by his behaviour.

Eventually the teen knew he was going to have to go completely cold turkey and that was stressing him out. He had no idea what would the consequences would be when he began missing a week, maybe more of school, but no matter what they were it still seemed better than going in and having a breakdown.

That had been his routine for the past two weeks or so. Don't take a pill: stumble around the streets feeling anxious and dizzy like he was in a separate dimension to everyone else; take a pill: go to school and act like everything was fine.

Today had been a skipping day, and he had spent the day hopping between his favourite stores. It meant a bathroom was never too far away when he began to feel particularly nauseous and it was a pastime of his anyway. However at about half two he had spotted a familiar face just outside the window of the current shoe store he was in.

Scott looked liked he was definitely on a mission and Mitch was too inquisitive to just alert the boy to his presence straight away. Besides, he didn't really want the boy to see him like this, even if that day had been one of his better ones, he had only got dizzy once and cried in front of strangers twice.

Playing the Mission Impossible theme song in his head he trailed the youngster for a good hour and a half, watching the blond dash into store after store, each time coming out with a darker expression on his face.

_What is he playing at?_

In the end, about twenty stores later, the boy appeared to have finally given up on whatever task he had set himself and looked to be heading to the subway. That was until his face had suddenly gazed in wonder at a popular independent store that Mitch had always been too intimidated to go into because of the prices.

Scott however was oblivious to the store's reputation and had trotted in eagerly. Mitch had followed him in and snuck into the women's section, knowing full well the youngster wouldn't go into the "girly clothes!" and observed him with interest.

At first he couldn't quite believe what he was witnessing,  _no Scott would never..._

But his eyes had widened in horror as he witnessed the young boy sneakily shoplift the kids snapback and dart off down a side street, the perfect little thief as the store's security quickly gave up the chase.

Mitch went into autopilot after that. He knew these streets better than Scott, plus he knew Scott. He knew the alleyways the youngster would probably feel the most safe in and the shortcuts he himself could take to get there.

Sure enough, his gamble paid off and he soon caught up to the blond taking a breather in a side street, a block away from the robbery location.

Filled with anger at the youngster's stupid stunt he marched straight up to Scott and spun him round. He forgot the kid would most likely retaliate to this surprise automatically, and almost expected to be punched in the gut at the shocked look on his friend's face. Fortunately for him, he was quickly recognised and the boy just angrily yelled at him, "You!" 

Mitch didn't bother with a greeting of his own, instead choosing to begin dragging the younger boy roughly by his arm back to the store, the blond still in enough of a state of shock that he came without question to start with.

Soon enough though, Scott began with his interrogation. "Why were you here?" he asked, as he was being pulled along.

Mitch carried on looking and walking straight ahead. "Because shopping," he replied bluntly, and they continued on in silence. Mitch could feel tears appearing in his eyes and angrily blinked them away.

_Don't you dare start crying now you idiot!_

When they came to the final corner before the street the store was on, Mitch finally turned his attention to the boy next to him. "Why'd you do it Scotty?" he asked, completely confused.

"I dunno," the little blond mumbled and only then did Mitch notice the tear streaks on the other's cheeks. Had the boy been quietly crying the whole time?  _Ha, we make quite a pair._  "I just... I just got mad that I couldn't find you and then I saw the hat and then I couldn't help myself! I just sort of took it and...yeah," Scott blurted out all at once, turning his red rimmed eyes to look at him.

_So he was just copying me? When have I ever stolen from a store?_

"Are you mad Mitchy?"

The teen shook his head. "Only at myself."

"Oh..." Scott whispered. "Why?"

"Because I should have remembered how easily kids are influenced."

The younger boy looked puzzled. "You wha'? Huh?"

"But just because I miss school, doesn't mean you should too Scotty."

"You think I was  _copying you_?" the blond questioned, his upset face transforming into an enraged one.

Mitch shrugged. "Well I'm here. You're here," he pointed out the obvious.

"You think that I'd miss school and the lessons I really enjoy with my really cool friends and a teacher who is super awesome? And don't forget my lunch!" Scott clenched his fists by his sides at that point and Mitch was worried the boy was actually going to fight him, but he just carried on raging at him. "You think I'd miss all that because I wanted to be the  _same as you_  or summin'?"

Mitch turned away from the angry glare and rubbed at his tired eyes. "Okay okay, point made. If it wasn't that then why?" he asked, perplexed.

"Cos you're my friend Mitchy and I had to find you," Scott answered, giving Mitch a look that implied he was stupid for thinking anything else.

 _Is that really why you're out here? Surely you can't miss me that much._  But as his friend continued, Mitch slowly began to realise the consequence his actions might have had on his classmates and teacher.

"I was worried and scared when you didn't turn up" Scott recounted for him, "cos I dunno what you're doing and you won't tell me! I thought we were buddies," he looked down dejectedly.

"We are," Mitch promised. Now it was his turn to feel like crying again.  _I haven't been a very good buddy have I?_

Scott confirmed his own thoughts: "Well you haven't been acting like one," he said, folding his skinny arms. "I just wanted my friend back, s'all" he insisted. "I didn't wanna miss school or steal the hat or nothing but I was going crazy not knowing if you was okay Mitchy and it made me do crazy bad things."

Mitch could feel another spell of dizziness and idiotically shook his head to try and get rid of it, only making it worse. He shut his eyes tight as he tried to regain his composure and, in the darkness, he felt a small hand latch on to his.

"Why d'you keep skipping Mitch?" the small voice asked beside him.

"It's...ah heck!" Mitch hissed, tearing himself away and leaning both hand against the nearest wall he could find. He could feel his heartbeat racing as he struggled to keep firm control over his body. His breath hitched when Scott placed his hand on his back, and he turned to see the boy's eyes staring worriedly at him.

With his eyes tight shut again he asked, "Y'know why I got put in Mr L's class Scotty?"

"Um, Kirstie said something about pills," the boy murmured.

"Yeah, well I'm trying to get off them."

"Oh!" Scott exclaimed, "That's good isn't it?" 

"Not when it makes me feel dizzy, sick, sends my anxiety though the roof and makes me start crying for no reason." Mitch explained everything all at once and there was a pause while Scott struggled to take it all in.

"So that's why you've been missing..." the blond deciphered finally. 

"Yes," Mitch said firmly, "It's better this way for everyone."

 _I'm gonna have to find some way to keep him quiet about this._  One was enough, he couldn't have the others learn about the state he was in right now.

Scott was quiet as he kicked an empty can around until it fell down a drain. "But it only made everyone sad and angry and upset and confused," he declared after a while. "It's not the same when you're missing. It's not as fun and I can't work as well and Kevin gets more worked up and Kirstie says meaner things and Avi...umm, and Mr L looks really worried all the time and Avi, well... you need to get to know him more. He still only says, like, thirty words a day but they're awesome words. He said Kevin's new sneakers were rock 'n' roll the other day and you missed it!"

 _Avi said that? Thought he would only use posh words or something._  It did make Mitch sad as he realised how much he was missing out on, but that didn't take away the fact that he wasn't himself right now.

"You might want me around but I don't think the others would. I'd just be a pain in the ass."

"Isn't that normal?" Scott teased. "Seriously Mitchy, we all love ya in our own ways. Don't forget that."

Mitch could hardly believe that statement. "Most of you've only known me for five months."

"Yeah and in those five months I think we can all say we've never had better friends."

The teen had no reply to that, because as much as he wanted to disagree, he knew Scott was right.

"Mitch?" the youngster cautiously called out, and the older boy realised he was still breathing very loudly and that his knuckles had turned white against the brick walls. It would be so easy to just let himself go and rage and cry right now but he couldn't, he had to sort a certain minor theft out first.

Slowly, ever so slowly, he began to regain control over his limbs and his lungs. His dizziness slowly faded and he was left with a clearer mind. Suddenly all that Lottie had been trying to tell him slipped into place - about clearing your head of everything unimportant so you could only focus on the stuff that mattered - he'd just needed a certain friend of his to knock that sense into him and now he knew what his next course of action should be.

Turning, with the calmest look he possessed, he spoke to Scott. "C'mon let's take that hat back," he instructed, holding out his hand for the pokemon snapback the boy still had clutched tightly in his hands.

Scott looked disappointed as he assumed Mitch had just disregarded everything he had said. "Oh, okay..." and he obediently handed over his stolen good. "Can you just give it back and say you just found it? Please?" the blond begged, tugging at Mitch's sleeve.

"Nope, this is on you kiddo. You stole it, you give it back." Mitch was adamant on the issue and the two walked, side by side this time, back to the store.

Stopping just outside the door, Scott nervously asked, "What if he gets really mad?"

"Well he would be entitled to," Mitch reminded him. "But don't worry I won't let him take it too far," he added sympathetically.

The boy nodded. "Okay." And the two stepped through the door.

To look at the store you wouldn't have thought it had been robbed a mere twenty minutes ago. The staff were perfectly relaxed, and the old guy standing near the back, who Mitch identified as the manager was playing some game on his phone.

 _I guess out of everything that could have been stolen, a kids hat was the least of their priorities_ , Mitch thought as he eyed up the multitude of clothes that cost three hundred dollars or more.

_This would be the store you shoplifted wouldn't it Scotty?_

Sidling up to the manager with his young friend in tow, Mitch cleared his throat and motioned to Scott to speak up. The old guy looked disinterested at first but then his bushy eyebrows raised in surprise when the small blond held out the snapback to him.

The nine year old was at a loss for words and it took some encouragement from Mitch before he spoke up.

"Scotty." Mitch urged, giving him a light push forward, and the little boy finally burst out his apology.

"I'm very sorry Sir. I don't have no money to 'pologise with or nothing but I promise I'll never ever do it again," he vowed, the tears threatening to fall again. "Please don't call the cops, my mom'll be really mad. I don't wanna go to jail."

The old guy regarded the shaking boy before him and Mitch could read in his eyes that Scott wasn't in any serious trouble. "You brought it back huh? That's a first," he took the snapback from the boy's shaking hands and examined it. "Well it's not damaged so I see no reason to call the cops," he decided, giving Mitch a wink.

Bending down he interrogated Scott, "You learnt your lesson then boy?"

The boy stood up straight and replied with a soldier like, "Yes Sir."

Mitch looked down at the blond's head and then back to the pokemon hat, and felt himself lose control in a different way.

Flitting his gaze back to the manager he gestured to the snapback. "How much?"

The man smiled in surprise slightly and flipped it over to check the tag. "Forty eight dollars," he told Mitch and the teen had to fight back a grimace when he heard the price.

" _Forty eig_ \- oh whatever, here" and he handed over fifty dollars of his own hard earned cash, telling the guy to keep the change as some sort of repayment for their earlier troubles.

Handing the hat back to Mitch and a very confused Scott, the manager mused, "You're a very lucky boy, having a friend like this."

"I know," Scott responded instantly, looking up at older boy with the most adoring look on his face, that it almost made Mitch forget he'd just spent nearly a day's worth of wages on a fucking pokemon hat.

Once they were back outside Mitch glanced down to check his watch. Good, he could tell Scott what he needed to and still make today's work in time.

"Why'd you do that Mitchy?" the boy asked first.

Mitch ignored that initial question and instead set to barking out his own enquiries. "You want to end up in juvie, huh?" he snarled, perhaps a bit harsher than he intended, but he needed to make sure his message got through.

Scott stuck out his chin. "No," he retorted defiantly.

"Yeah, cos trust me kiddo, a kid your size won't stand a chance," Mitch remarked.

The younger boy scowled at the small jibe at his height. "The lady said I'm meant to be big," he tried to point out.

"Yeah well you're not," the teen countered. "All I see is a scrawny little runt from where I'm standing. And this is me talking." Realistically speaking, Mitch knew that he would probably have even less chance than Scott at serving time in juvie but right now, he needed to be the big man.

The teen was quiet as he allowed that to sink into the younger boy's mind, not saying a word until he saw Scott nod at him in understanding. Tossing the snapback in the air a few times, he placed the snapback firmly on the boy's head and knelt down to look directly into the baby blues.

"And to answer your earlier question, I bought this because I want it to be a reminder for you," he admitted, tapping the cap with one finger. "When you wear this hat, I want you to always remember that stealing is bad and that you are  _never_  going to do it again. Okay Scotty?" the boy concluded gently.

Scott's face was the perfect picture of delight. "Yes, yes, yes! I'll never ever forget, thank you Mitch!" the young boy marvelled at his friend's gift to him and Mitch decided that money was worth nothing compared to the connection he felt with the blond at that very moment.

He grinned and gave Scott an appraising look. "That and you don't look half bad in it either," he complimented him before checking the time once more. "Right I've got work now," he informed his friend.

Scott's face fell immediately as he realised his friend was going to disappear just as soon as he found him. "Okay...I'll see ya around then," he mumbled as he began walking away.

Mitch was slightly bewildered at the sudden change in mood until he realised the youngster's problem. "Yeah, I'll see you tomorrow at school Scott," he added, emphasising the "at school" part.

The figure stopped in it's tracks and turned back with a huge grin. "Awesome!" he joyfully shouted, giving Mitch a salute and charging off down the street.

Mitch shook his head at the crazy kid dodging his way through the mass of tourists.  _Well there I go. I've said I'll be there tomorrow, I can't go back on it now._  And when he said back, he meant back with no pills.

There was no doubt that he was nervous, hell terrified, that he might be rejected the moment he would undoubtedly lose control in lessons, but like Scott had said, he had to trust in the friendships he had forged over the past few months, and believe that they would stick by him through thick and thin.

Never before had Mitch put so much faith in people; not since those lawyers had failed his father and his mom had basically failed in looking after him, but there was something about those four other kids and that unique teacher that had given him a new outlook on life. He cared about these people. He really did. In fact it could be argued that was why he had been avoiding them.

He thought he'd been protecting them from having to deal with himself, when really it had been himself he had been protecting. He just hadn't wanted anyone to see him vulnerable, to see him so out of control. But now he realised he'd just let them down by keeping the truth from them. They were his friends, they deserved to know. Not to mention he also really wanted to hear the words "rock 'n' roll" come out of Avi's mouth.


	26. Trouble Brewing

_When people talk, listen completely. Most people never listen. - Ernest Hemingway_

**Thursday 8th February**

Jeremy could happily admit his knowledge on the decades old feud between the The Syndicate and The Strikers was limited; but if he was to go by the spats between his two resident high rise kids he could definitely see why things often got violent and deadly.

As it usually was when things got heated in class, the day had started off perfectly fine. Mitch was having - according to the boy himself - one of his better days; he had returned on Monday with an explanation for his recent absences which had Jeremy wrapping the boy up in a hug. Other teachers might have seen that reaction as inappropriate and unprofessional but he didn't give a fuck what they thought. He had promised Mitch that he was going to be there every step of the way and told him he couldn't have been prouder of him.

Truth be told Jeremy had actually been talking to Lottie and had already found out the boy was attempting to get off his mom's pills. He hadn't even realised the boy was still taking them, the teen deserved an Oscar. As he spoke to Lottie about Mitch's recent absences, she had explained that the boy was most likely not feeling his very best, and that coming off anti-depressants was just as hard as coming off any other drug, especially for a fourteen year old.

So they had worked it out together, knowing the teen as much as they did, that Mitch was probably skipping because he didn't want to be a burden on them. Lottie had been planning to talk to the boy about this at their next session but apparently his little rascal had got in first.

The very day he had come back, Mitch did indeed have a moment where he said he felt nauseous and dizzy and Jeremy stopped the lesson, allowing the boy to listen to music on his iPod while Avi and Kevin helped the teen to the beanbags.

For the next hour or so they all sat in concern - Jeremy continued the lessons for the other three - while Scott down with the boy as he shook and cried and apologised quietly. The nine year old somehow knew just what to say, never once making Mitch feel any less than the incredible kid they all knew he was.

Once the shakes had subsided and Mitch returned to his desk, slightly embarrassed but feeling a lot better, Kevin initiated a massive group hug which ended up with all the kid's trying to tickle each other. More of these panic attacks had occurred since but Mitch was always with them, he was safe, and he knew they would be there for him.

 _Well done kid_ , Jeremy thought,  _and thank you Lottie_. And to think, Mitch almost never turned up to seek her help if it weren't for the special kind wisdom only pre-teens possessed.

_Yeah, not bad going either Scott._

So anyway, back to today; Mitch was having a good day, and Avi had actually initiated a few conversations. Granted they had been "Nice weather," and "I'm stuck on this question", but Jeremy wasn't going to complain. As far as his investigation had been going, he had set up a Google alerts for the name Abbott Kaplan, but had only received short articles about some charity or business event the man had attended.

A few days ago however a different kind of news report had surfaced about a charity event from around three weeks ago. Allegedly a certain Abbott Kaplan had turned up absolutely wasted, threw up during his speech, sworn at all the guests and eventually had to be escorted from the premises. There were no photos but from what he'd seen before Jeremy assumed Avi would have attended as well.

 _And then he starts talking the next day of school. Is that purely a coincidence?_  Jeremy suspected no but he wasn't about to bring that topic up with the still shy boy. But anyway, that piece of information was another to file away in the fairly empty filing cabinet.

So back to today again, everything had been going fine; Scott had been chatting to Mitch which was proving immensely entertaining to the young teacher.

"So Jay and Leah, y'know the two who are having the new baby?" the blond had asked about the two latest young teenagers to breed while he was drawing a diagram to show how global warming worked.

"Yeah, what about them?" Mitch had responded while labelling parts of the nervous system.

"Well Jay's black," Scott stated.

"Yes."

"And Leah's white. So the baby could be black or white?"

"Um, most likely somewhere in between," Mitch told him.

Scott nodded seriously. "But not stripy?"

"No," Mitch spluttered, and both he and Avi had begun almost crying with laughter at that very image while Scott yelled at them to shut up and let him concentrate.

Jeremy too had found that whole exchange very funny but one person who definitely didn't share this sentiment was a girl going by the name of Kirstie, who had been quieter than usual that day.

"Y'know I don't mind you asking the world's dumbest questions, just ask them somewhere far away from me."

Scott turned at the girl's remark and pulled a face and secretly - the boy thought - held up his middle finger. "Why?" he challenged, and Jeremy could instantly sense this wasn't going to end quickly.

"Cos I can feel myself losing brain cells just listening to you," Kirstie mocked him.

"But you'd need a brain in the first place."

"Oh ha ha ha, shut the fuck up you rat."

"No you shut up you bitch!"

 _Wow. Okay._  Jeremy had never seen Scott get this angry before.

"Both of you stop it now," he demanded, aiming his glare towards Kirstie, seeing as she was the main instigator in this fight. Surprisingly, the teen almost seemed prepared to leave the insult rest but Scott just couldn't keep his mouth shut.

"Tell the bitch to stop calling me dumb!" he cried out, pointing his finger accusingly at the already moody girl, and that was it; Kirstie was not about to back down from this one.

She sneered at the youngster. "Why? If you were twice as smart, you'd still be stupid."

"Kirstie leave it!" Jeremy could feel his own heart racing as the two kids faced up to each other in the middle of the classroom, two high rise kids fighting to be top dog. He could also see the other three subconsciously backing away, all of them inexperienced in this kind of attitude from their friends.

He met eyes with Avi and saw the boy was silently asking him if he wanted help in breaking the two up, but Jeremy shook his head no. He would only physically step in between the two as a last straw if he suspected things might get violent. Until then, he'd learnt the best way to settle spats was with consistent patience and coolness.

"Well at least I'm not from a family of crack-whores," came Scott's next insult.

"Scott." Jeremy scolded the boy, and he saw the blond's gaze flit to his for a second. He could tell the youngster was getting fed up and almost thought he was going to back down if it weren't for Kirstie's next sentence.

"I'm gonna kill you," the girl threatened, and if Jeremy didn't know how good of an actor Kirstie could be, he might have fully believed her. 

"Y'know if you killed me, people would at least miss me unlike your family of Latino inbreds!" Scott too, didn't seem overly concerned by the girl's big talk. "Hey Kirstie, I think you musta been born on a highway, cos that's where the most accidents happen."

Kirstie leered over the smaller boy. "You think you're such a big man don't you?" she hissed. "Well let me tell you something kid, you'll never be half the man your mom is!"

Scott lunged at the girl. "Don't you dare say nothing about my mom!" he shrieked out angrily when Kirstie easily side stepped his attack. The blond turned back around to face the teen, who was sadistically smirking and muttered, "Y'know Michael was right; The Syndicate family tree is a cactus, cos everybody on it is a prick!"

The blond's insults appeared to have little to no effect on Kirstie now, who continued to smile at him dangerously. Honestly a lot of what Scott said sounded like the type of trash talk the West Rises would use and was probably what he had grown up with. However Kirstie...there was something personal about Kirstie's threats today as she was about to prove with her next one: "Watch yourself kid," she gave him another fake smile. "My family of pricks have contacts who could wipe you out with a click of a finger. I'd like to see how much of a smart mouth you are when there's a knife in your back."

You could see the blood visibly drain from Scott's face and Jeremy was suddenly flipped back into reality, and he realised he had just been staring the two for too long a time, absolutely caught up in the drama of it all.  _It's like I'm watching a series on HBO._  Well it was time for credits on this particular episode to roll. The young man steeled himself and uttered in the most authoritative voice he could muster: "Kirstie Maldonado if you don't stop this behaviour I will personally see you kicked out of this school for good."

There was silence. The girl didn't say anything else, but it seemed she'd said all she wanted to anyway, and Scott had definitely lost all the bite behind his bark. The other three were still understandably shook up also.  _And me. What the hell just happened?_

Jeremy took a deep breath. The last thing they all needed was him losing his cool. What might be the most stressful part of his day, was most likely a welcome break of stress most of his kids would face at home, and he needed to keep these lessons and this class somewhere they could feel safe and relaxed. Death threats had no place here.

Ignoring Kirstie for now, he calmly walked towards his youngest and placed a gentle hand on his shoulder. "Alright Scott?" he asked the stunned boy.

The little guy nodded slowly, still taken aback by the last threat from Kirstie and Jeremy could feel him quivering slightly under his palm.

"How come you always take his side?" Kirstie complained. "He was doing it too!" Jeremy could practically feel the anger radiating off the young girl as the other three kids all crowded around the youngest to make sure he was okay.

He turned back to her. "Because you are sixteen and he is only nine," he lectured, narrowing his eyes when the teen went to open her mouth again. Luckily she just fell silent, choosing to stare daggers into the floor.

Now the initial crisis was over Jeremy knew he needed to get to the root of the problem, and fast. The longer his kids were allowed to linger on grudges, the more likely they were to never to let them out.

Ruffling Scott's head he instructed, "Give us a minute little rascal?"

The boy nodded earnestly, "Yes Mr L."

"Yes Mr L." Kirstie mocked him.

"Enough," Jeremy growled and waved a hand at his other students, "All of you, go to the library or something." He needed to speak to Kirstie alone.

They all filed out as quickly and quietly as possible except for Avi, who lingered at the door, gazing over at Kirstie with big, sad eyes until Jeremy jerked his head at him to get out and he slinked away.

Once they had the room to themselves Jeremy sat down on the nearest desk and crossed his arms across his chest. "I'm waiting," he told the girl.

She raised her fiery eyes to look at him. "For what?" she leered.

"For you to tell me why you and Scott suddenly seem to hate each other."

"We've always trash talked each other in the past. It's just banter."

"Oh yeah?" he shook his head in disbelief. "Yeah Kirstie, it really seemed like banter when you basically threatened to have him killed. I mean calling each other dumb or stupid, I don't like it but I can accept that as childish behaviour. Telling him he's gonna have a knife in his back? He's a little boy Kirstie."

She pursed her lips. "That may be true, but he's still a little boy on the wrong side of the fight."

Jeremy groaned at her stubbornness. "But he's not involved with the gangs is he?"

Kirstie considered her answer thoughtfully. "No, but he lives in the West Rises. That's bad enough," she decided.

"I just don't see why getting him riled up would have any benefit. You're dragging him into something he has no involvement in, you're not doing him any favours and your  _certainly not_  doing the others any favours." The girl just stared blankly at him and Jeremy could tell she was purposefully trying not to let out any emotions. He tried a different approach. "Avi's just started talking, I don't want him to be scared into silencing himself again."

That got a reaction from her, the teen's anger slowly dissipating into a sullen mood. He attempted to reason with her again.

"He's a sweet kid Kirstie," he said, referring to Scott. "Hearing him say all that stuff just didn't feel right at all."

"Unlike hearing me say it right?" the girl snapped back.

"That's not what I meant."

"Yes it is." She gave him a bitter-sweet smile. "Scott starts spewing out shit and everyone thinks there must be something horribly wrong with him, that someone must have hurt him, but I say the same stuff and people pass it off as: 'oh that's just Kirstie for you'."

Jeremy was stunned by the sudden revelation that sounded a bit like...jealousy?  _Is she annoyed because she's the one getting in more trouble here?_  In a way though, he understood that point of view. Perhaps he had acted a bit unfairly. Well there was the fact Scott was seven years younger than her, but Jeremy could see where Kirstie was coming from.

When you got labelled as a bad kid from an early age, too many times issues went unnoticed because the normal signs that implied they were having a rough time - shouting, screaming, stealing, fighting etc - were just credited to that kid being from the wrong side of the tracks or associated with the wrong kinds of people.

He wondered how many times he had been guilty of missing the fact Kirstie was upset with something because he had just assumed it was part of her personality. How many times had a snide remark hidden a personal problem at home, or a slightly rough shove at Kevin hidden an anger at some wrong - doing against her. For how long had this girl been learning to hide behind the tough girl image she had perfected so well? Jeremy could only imagine it had been for her whole life considering the family she had been born into.

_Just when I think I'm getting good at this job, something occurs that shows me just how much more I have to learn._

"I'm sorry Kirstie, I really am." He unfolded his arms and leant forward, hoping she would see the sincerity in his eyes. "I apologise if I've ever missed something because I thought it was just you being you. I would have been wrong to assume. I'll do my very best to not let it happen again."

He would have promised if he could have, but with Kirstie's hiding abilities he knew that recognising if something was wrong was nearly impossible sometimes.

The look in the girl's eyes was all he needed to let him know this was the first time anyone - or at least any teacher - had ever said sorry to her. She was suspicious at first, then surprised, and finally a neutral expression passed over her face. She wasn't happy, but at least she was no longer angry. "Thanks for admitting it I s'pose," she muttered, before standing up and walking out slowly.

He didn't go to stop her. He had said what he needed to and no matter how much he wanted to know what had set Kirstie off in the first place, after what transpired earlier he could see that wasn't going to happen now.

"Can I still ask you one favour though?" he called out just before she exited. Kirstie stopped and waited for his request, not bothering to face him. "Just reassure Scott he's not gonna be murdered any time soon," he begged.

_That kid loses enough sleep without being kept awake worried someone might be out to get him._

He heard Kirstie sigh and saw her shoulders slump. "Yeah..." she murmured. "Yeah, tell him what he wants to hear, not what he needs to hear." And with that she walked out.

_I think that meant she's going to do what I asked her to. But that other part, what was that all about?_

Jeremy had thought he knew his students quite well, but he now realised just how much of their lives was still kept a secret from him. The situation today had alerted him to the fact the kids he was presented with in the morning and the ones who left the school that same day could very well be two completely different people.

He felt overwhelmed just hearing the arguments between his two high risers, so couldn't even begin to imagine the real hostility the two youngsters felt when they were home, especially Kirstie. How much tension was there between these two gangs? How fucked up did things actually get? Jeremy only knew what he saw in the news but not even half of went on was ever covered. Stuff just got forgotten about and swept under the rug for the people not involved, while the ones living that life had to deal with it every single day.

But at least now he hoped Kirstie and Scott would no longer be at each other's throats any more. He hoped that his brief but poignant chat with Kirstie showed her she didn't need to vent at her most obvious rival to get her feelings across. Little did he know, the small arguments in class were only a small indication of something much greater and far more deadly brewing up between the two neighbourhoods.


	27. A Spark Of Recognition

_Men of few words are the best men. - William Shakespeare, Henry V_

**Wednesday 14th February**

It was Valentine's day. The day of romance and love, and for Kirstie, avoiding every boy in sight. Even though she knew she had no need to worry about this in Mr L's class she still kept up the pretence of needing isolation. Right now, she had pushed the two bookcases to make a kind of barrier around the beanbags in the corner, and was sat in silence working on her essay. This work was easy, if not kind of boring, Kirstie found that given enough peace and quiet she could write for hours about a whole score of topics.

Mitch had taken Scott and Kevin to the library to work on their essays,  _more fool him_ , Kirstie thought, and Mr L and Avi were somewhere in the classroom getting on with whatever work they had to do.

Even though it had been over a week since her and Scott's "little" spat, for Kirstie there still seemed to be a slight tension lingering in the air whenever they were all in the room together. Perhaps it was just her imagination, but she could have sworn Kevin was more cautious with his joking around her now, and that Mitch sent more dull stares rather than smiles her way.

They were probably all wondering why she had been so cruel to the youngest, and at times she wondered too. It was silly really. She knew why. She was starting to see him as a little brother. For God's sake, it wasn't hard. Scott knew how to worm his way into everyone's heart. But something big was coming. Something she had no control over and it was best for both him and her if they kept their distance from each other.

Don't get her wrong, fighting with the boy constantly hurt her more than anything, but losing him to someone else's hand rather than pushing him away with her own would be so much more painful. So she had been purposefully going out her way to poke fun at him, to throw insults at him that she knew would hit a sore spot. Calling him dumb, making fun of his height, and being rude about his mom.

The kid was most likely going to hate her soon, an emotion he had never seemed capable of but it looked like Kirstie was going to be given a special exception. The girl let out a long yawn as she continued to scribble down her ideas on her chosen topic. She heard the boy come up behind her before she saw him, quiet footsteps on the carpet. "Hey," the deep voice greeted her.

"Hi," she replied amicably enough. At least she new she wouldn't have to worry about sexual advances from this one. Since Avi had uttered his first words she had gone out of her way to try and coax more out of him. Out of everyone she was the one who could get him to speak the most, mainly because Kevin and Scott talked more than listened and the teen still seemed slightly intimidated by Mitch and Mr L. Even with Kirstie however, his sentence limit rarely exceeded five words.

Allowing him to invade her space, she watched as Avi pulled up a beanbag beside her, knelt down and peered at what she had written so far. "You've wrote a lot," he acknowledged.

Kirstie shrugged. "It's just an essay. It's easy."

Avi tilted his head a little, "Well, what topic did you choose?" he asked her.

"The Romantic Poets."

"Why's that easy?"

"Cos there's just not much to say."

Avi hesitantly reached out to lift the paper to read it himself. "The Romantic Poets were a bunch of emos," he read the first sentence and gave her a small smile.

They both said nothing more and Kirstie expected the older boy to awkwardly shuffle away like he usually did when the conversation was at an end and he could think of no more ways to keep it going. She couldn't be bothered to keep the flow of talk going today.

This time though, he surprised her. "Are you okay?" he gently asked out of the blue.

"Of course," Kirstie replied, bewildered by his question, "shouldn't you be worrying over Scott or something?" Even though she had gone and apologised to the kid like Mr L had requested, and Scott had accepted the apology and given her one too, like the "golden boy" he was, the others still tended to stick closer to him when she was around, like they were worried she was going to snap at him at any moment.

Avi's big green eyes got even larger. "Scott? Oh...he's fine I think. He knows you didn't mean what you said," he told her what she already knew, giving her a hopeful smile.

Kirstie sighed and the smile fell once more. "He's not dumb at all. I was wrong to say that," she admitted. "But as for the knife in his back, he shouldn't disregard that so quickly."

"What are you saying?" the other teen queried, his eyes getting so large Kirstie was worried they might pop out of his head.

"I'm not saying anything," she said bluntly. "Just that he should watch himself."

"Do you know something we don't?"

"I know a lot about things you can't even imagine," she told Avi quietly.

What she knew was slowly eating her up. She was being devoured from the inside out with the information her papa had divulged to her that fateful evening. Just as she had begun to feel slightly more carefree in her life, the gang leader, her own papa, had reminded Kirstie that everything will come to an end. And what he had talked about had been a particularly violent and bloody end. 

If Scott's mom was up to what her sources had informed her of, then the little boy was going to find himself directly tangled up in the mess. Kirstie was too protective over her own emotions to allow herself to get any more attached to the kid.

"Eh, I've got a pretty good imagination," the deep voice beside her reminded Kirstie she still had company.

She glanced back up and to her surprise, found that Avi's face was fairly close to her's; and she saw in those kind emerald eyes that there wasn't judgement on distaste, that he thought no less of her after what she had said to Scott. For some reason it was like he was the only person who saw Kirstie for who she truly was and what she really felt. It unnerved her greatly, and she did what came most naturally to her. She fought against it.

Lifting her head high she put on her best "I am someone you should be very afraid of" face and told Avi how it was. "Okay, try this on for size; my father his the ringleader of The Syndicate."

Now Kirstie had expected rebuke, perhaps a look of fear or a comment of disgust. What she had not been expecting was for Avi to let out a small laugh and nod his head in compassion. "Overbearing fathers, yeah, I know a bit what that can be like."

The girl scoffed and shook her head, astounded. "Overbearing is the least of it."

Avi turned to her with a face that just exuded kindness and understanding. "I know," he simply said. Kirstie felt her spine tingle at the look in the boy's eyes, it was a flicker of something she knew all to well; one that she had never noticed in anyone else before. 

She mentally shook herself out of her astonishment at seeing that spark of recognition in Avi's eyes. "Why?" she asked, narrowing her own eyes in curiosity. "Who's your father?"

"Oh, just some businessman," Avi passed over the answer like it was not important but Kirstie could tell it was a sore subject. She didn't push him on it though. From what she knew about the other teen, he didn't seem like the kind of guy who would open up from insistent pushing. He was already pushed around enough already.

"Why did you start talking, really?" she asked, twisting the attention onto him, at the same time twisting her blond hair with her pen.

Avi looked fixedly ahead, his mouth opening and closing silently before he thought of his answer. "Because...I'd had enough," he replied carefully. "I took a risk and it paid off." He spoke each word like it had been well prepared.

Kirstie couldn't really see how talking in class would be that risky but reminded herself of what Kevin had predicted at their trip to Chipotle: that Avi may very well have been raised like this. That for him, speaking out loud might be the equivalent to her  _I dunno, admitting I love the theatre in front of my family._

"You do seem a lot happier in class now," she observed, giving Avi a small but genuine smile.

The boy smiled back. "I am," he confessed, adding "It's also a lot easier just telling Kevin to shut up rather than having to mime it."

Kirstie laughed, remembering the elaborate gestures the once silent Avi had to make to try and get any of his points across.

The older boy's beam widened, the crinkles in the corners of his eyes deepening. "There, that's better," he noted, cheeks reddening slightly as he complimented her: "You look like a completely different person when you laugh."

The blush on Avi's cheeks took Kirstie back to when it used to be her suggestive or snide remarks that caused it to appear. She couldn't imagine herself talking to him like that now. It had been a matter of weeks since the boy had started talking, yet already his unnaturally deep and dulcet tones was one of the factors that persuaded Kirstie it was worth turning up to school. Just like the connections she felt to everyone else made her realise there was a reason to go to class, and that included Mr L. Yes he was a teacher, but he was one who actually seemed to care about them as individuals instead of statistics.

_He apologised to me, that was a first. I was almost certain he was mocking me but no, that's just who he is._

She unravelled her blonde locks from the pen, and used it to tap Avi's shoulder. "It doesn't seem too long ago since we were all trying to make you laugh," she mentioned.

Avi adjusted his grey beanie - Kevin had been trying to persuade him to wear the dragon one to no avail so far - and chuckled softly. "Ah that day. Y'know I think that might have been the happiest I'd felt in a while. It was...freeing I guess."

That admission, about being the happiest he'd been, was surprisingly personal and Kirstie felt honoured the boy of few words had chosen to share that with her. She shifted on her beanbag so she was facing him.

"I don't think you've ever said so much to me before."

"Well...I have been practicing."

She raised her eyebrows. "Maybe you should practice with me some more."

The boy paused before smirking slightly back at her. "Maybe I should."

And his face was all of a sudden very serious, his eyes returning from smiling to earnest.

"I know feeling stuff can be scary, but feeling absolutely nothing can be even scarier," he vowed sincerely.

 _What is he trying to say?_  She tried to relate that to the issues she was facing right now.  _That I should just allow myself to be hurt by remaining friendly Scott?_  And if she did allow her friendship with the little rat to continue, it would mean she would feel obliged to help him somehow. 

But she was powerless in this situation. Kirstie knew too little about what was going on behind the scenes with her papa and his associates and Scott knew even less. Even if she did try to warn him he probably wouldn't take her seriously, and if he did what was he going to do about it? She also suspected that the truth might break his little heart.

 _I guess I could try and pass on a warning to his mom. Then it would be up to her to decide what to do._  But that would be extremely risky and Kirstie wasn't sure if she would be willing to go through with that if it might threaten her place in the world. Losing everything she had ever known, no matter how much she hated it all, was terrifying to the young girl.  _You coward,_  she berated herself.  _You worthless, good for nothing coward._

As Kirstie quietly tormented herself, she felt a hand reach out to take hold of her shoulder and she turned to see Avi gazing at her. In that very second she saw in his eyes years of pain and torment...but also...also a fire, and it was a blaze that was burning brighter by the second, and that fire was warming her own soul and that gentle but steady grip on her shoulder was giving her the strength to do the right thing.

_I have to help. I can't sit by and idly do nothing while good people get hurt._

Avi was still gazing at her, that look in his eyes hadn't faded. His hand was still on her shoulder and she didn't want it to move. They were both quiet.

"Ooh! What is going on here then?" an excited voice echoed behind them, and both turned to see a giggly eleven year old peeping at them through the bookshelves.

Kirstie tried to aim her pen at him, but it simply bounced off one of the novels and back onto her lap.

"Kevin!" Avi and Kirstie yelled in unison as the hyper youngster ran off presumably to tell everyone what he thought he had seen.  _Which was nothing of course, right?_  Kirstie convinced her brain.  _Nothing happened. It was just two people, having a normal conversation._

That's what she tried to convince herself, although the way her heart was beating told a completely different story.


	28. Snapshots In Time

_Being interesting isn't important. But being happy is. As well as being a person you're proud of. - Holly Bourne, The Manifesto on How to be Interesting_

**Thursday 22nd February**

"Kevin if I hear you jump on the bed one more time, I will chop it up to sell as firewood!" the man's voice boomed upwards from three floors below.

The boy gave one last bounce for good luck and leapt from his mattress onto his bedroom floor with a humongous thud. Kevin grinned. His grandpa was always complaining that one day he was going to land so hard he'd travel through all the floors in the house right to the basement. Well so far it had not happened, so Kevin saw no reason to decrease his antics.

He was bored. This time of the year was always the rainiest few months for the city, as it was right now, and that meant he wasn't allowed outdoors to play - not his choice, his grandparents just worried about him catching a cold - and neither his grandma or grandpa were prepared to take him out in the car today. That left him with a limited few options of how to entertain his ever active mind.

Bouncing on the bed had been fun for a while, and then organising the secret photos he had been taking of his classmates into a form of collage. He had quite a collection now, maybe a hundred or so, that he'd started snapping on his phone since the second week of school. The earlier ones were mainly selfies of him and Scott looking "super cool" and of Scott pulling funny faces when no one else was looking.

Then Kevin had moved onto stealthier operations, getting the rarer photos, from that time anyway, such as Mitch genuinely cracking up at Kirstie, or Mr L playing Pokemon Go on his phone when he thought they were all working.

More recently however, he had felt confident enough to let everyone see what he was doing, and as such some of the photos had become more staged and a lot sillier. Probably the first group photo had been just before Christmas when they all put on these Santa hats Mitch had found in the storage cupboard (seriously, you could probably find anything in there if you looked hard enough) and all put their chins in their hands, trying their best to look angelic. Only Avi could really pull it off convincingly.

Another one of his favourites was of Scott and Mitch, the latter having just taken part in his first ever wrestling match with the youngest two. He had been awful, and the photo showed them both lying on the grass, with the blond shouting in the older boy's ear. Mitch was just staring at the camera, obviously trying his hardest to look grumpy, but unable to stop a smile breaking out.

He still had his selection of stealth photos though. Like Mitch and Mr L laughing at something the boy had written in his essay, or Scott kneeling by the bookshelves studying the titles, or one of his newest additions, Kirstie and Avi sharing a "moment" behind the bookcases.

After that moment in fact, Kirstie had sought out Scott and basically made everyone, including the youngest, faint in shock when she came up to him and gave him a hug, apologising again, only this time it was more heartfelt, for how she had been behaving around him. Kevin only wished he had caught the earlier part of her and Avi's conversation. The oldest boy must have a tongue of silver if he was able to get Kirstie to open herself up like that.

The last photo he had brought a huge smile to his face in remembrance of that moment. It had been the last day of school before the current half term, and it was of Mitch throwing an empty packet of his mom's pills into the trash, flipping it off on it's way. That had actually been Mr L's idea and Mitch agreed, saying the photo was "very him". The teen had made a solemn promise that day that the moment he felt upset or in need of reassurance or just needed a friendly voice to talk to, he would give one of them a call.

Well so far it had been six days into the school break and Kevin had not heard a peep from Mitch or the others. Either that meant the boy was doing fine or he was keeping stuff from them. Kevin couldn't know for sure but in his heart he truly believed the teen was doing alright. The moments and extremity of dizziness and periods of nausea had decreased greatly by the last day until Mitch actually had to alert them to the fact he wasn't feeling his best rather than them spotting it straight away.

That boy always found new ways to surprise and inspire Kevin. Stature wise, Mitch did not look capable of much, but Kevin often thought he was probably the strongest out of all of them. Despite everything he had going on at home with his mom and dad, he had managed to acknowledge the problems he was having, identify the source, and fight against it.

Kevin could see that even though everyone was opening up to each other and relaxing more in class, that the others still kept their own issues close to heart. Unwilling or simply too frightened to air them in the bright of the day. Even Mr L, their supposedly open and ever friendly teacher had something lurking under his skin. Kevin just knew there was a part of him he was keeping hidden from them.

_Even Scotty plays the hiding game._

He knew that the younger boy could appear completely open, almost too open at times, but there were fears Kevin knew the blond had never voiced out loud. The nine year old could smile and laugh and mess around as much as he wanted to; that didn't take away the fact that it was obvious his life at home was not at all content right now. His eagerness to always play with the rest didn't cover up the fact that his clothes appeared looser on him each week, or that they only found out that the soles of the boy's only sneakers had apparently fallen off three days before anyone noticed.

But if you were talking secret identities, Avi and Kirstie were definitely at the top of that list. The two were a pair of firmly chained tight shut books. You got the cover, the image they wanted you to see, and maybe a few carefully selected words that could describe them, and not much else. In fact Kirstie hugging Scott had probably been the most emotion she had ever shown publicly.

Or maybe he was kidding himself. Maybe he was really the most secretive out of all of them.  _No one would ever believe I ever get insecure or nothing._  Truth be told, Kevin got just as insecure and anxious about his mannerisms and his personality as the next kid. And it didn't help that he knew full on that he could be very annoying at times. Sometimes, it was like he was having an outer body experience, and he could see himself acting up or distracting everyone else, and all he wanted to do was yell at that Kevin to shut up. But things were never that easy for him. He only hoped he could learn to control himself like his grandpa wanted him to before it was too late.

He'd already managed to push his parents away. There was no telling how long his new friends would be able to put up with him. That was why he needed to document everything in his photos.  _You never know when it could all be taken away from you._  Those were Kevin's fears. Rejection. Abandonment. And yet no one at school had the slightest clue to what he was feeling. He was proud of that. Proud that the vulnerable side of his personality remained a mystery for his classmates. Proud that they could rely on him to be a constant source of happiness and hyper-ness whenever they needed a boost.

_I'm mystery man!_

Talking of mysteries...well Avi was just a whole other mystery entirely. Even though he was now talking, he was still a talking mystery. He would ask the others questions and was always interested to learn more about them, but try prying into his own life and it was like he was mute again.

True to his word, Kevin had begun dropping hints about the older boy's possible situation to his grandpa. It was a tricky process; with no solid evidence to back up his theory, Kevin was stuck planting small seeds of information into his grandpa's mind, in the hope that they would bloom and grow, causing the man to take matters into his own hands.

He had begun by just asking his grandfather if he had ever met someone who didn't talk. The old man had replied simply with the word "communists". Then, during a conversation over dinner, he had initiated a debate over why people might have selective mutism, earning shocked looks from both his grandparents for the change in the usual conversation of sports, TV or music. The week after he had casually mentioned in passing that Avi didn't talk, but then of course Avi had gone and opened his mouth the very next day.

More recently though, he had been probing his grandfather to tell him of the hardest cases he had been involved in, specifically ones involving children. Now none of this might seem like much, but Kevin knew his grandfather too well and could positively say that his old man would be subconsciously joining the dots between everything his grandson had been talking about with his years of experience. It would only be a matter of time before the guy would begin to make his own enquiries into Avi's life. After all, the man hadn't been a cop nearly forty years for nothing.

Having exhausted all possible entertainment upstairs, Kevin trotted down to the living room to see what the old cop was up to, and he found his grandfather watching an infomercial about an eight-in-one, all-purpose wheelbarrow, available for four easy payments of $39.95. One of the wheelbarrow's advertised functions was as a "rock mover", which made the old man laugh. It also converted to a snowplough, which aroused his grandfather's skepticism: "I've seen a lot of wheelbarrows in my time, and none of them can do that," he said, changing the channel.

The programme that was just starting on the other channel was some medical documentary called The Secret Life of Doctors. His grandfather stayed for the title credits and then heaved himself to his feet.

"Right," he said, giving Kevin's hair a ruffle, "I'm going to sort out some of the paperwork. Try not to break anything," he added.

Kevin smiled. Both of his grandparents were hoarders for all sorts of pamphlets, newspapers and magazines, and as such all the junk required a proper clear out every week or so. However this time, while his Grandpa would be searching through the mounds of papers talking about the Napoleonic War, the top ten films to see this summer and why broccoli can prevent cancer, he'd find some other helpful information. While doing his scheduled research on Avi and his father, an article had popped up briefly covering a charity event that had occurred on January 20th. 

The annual gala was meant to be in aid of raising money to build school's in Nigeria but the show stealer that day had been none other than a certain Mr Abbott Kaplan, who had been royally "out of his head" according to the online paper. Just like he had, Kevin knew his grandfather would have a very interesting read soon.

He was brought out of his glee at his genius, when the sound of sirens blared through the television. Some woman had been in a serious accident and needed emergency surgery on her brain to stop a bleed. Normally by now any documentary would have been turned over for cartoons but the words "secret life" had intrigued him and now he had to make sure this woman was okay.

The documentary was fast paced and intense from the get-go and Kevin found himself transfixed. The doctor who was working on the patient was one of the most experienced neurosurgeons in the country so she was in good hands.

 _It'd be cool to know how to help people like that._  If Kevin could do that then he would have another use other than being the entertainment system. His friends could rely on him to be able to look after them if they ever got hurt. _Like when Mitch had cut himself or when Scotty had hit his head._

He twisted his head as his grandmother ambled through the room with clean washing piled up to her nose. "Hey Grandma, y'know what looks really cool?" he asked as she disappeared to hang the clothes up to dry.

"What does?" she called out from the laundry room.

"That." Kevin answered, his eyes still glued to the screen.

The woman popped her head round the door and raised her eyes at the scene of the television. "Blood and guts?"

"It's a brain Grandma," Kevin corrected her. "And that guy there, the doctor guy with the funny hat on his head; he's gonna fix it."

The woman wrinkled her nose at the graphic scenes being shown on the TV. "Well I wish him good luck," she said, disappearing once more.

Kevin didn't hear her though, his focus already back on the work the doctor and the rest of the team were doing and the narrator's voice. The next hour was the quickest hour Kevin had experienced in his life, and he found himself wishing it were longer as the credits rolled.

 _Did I really just watch an hour long documentary?_  He couldn't quite believe it. Never before had anything grabbed his attention for such a long amount of time, not even his favourite cartoons or movies. And it's on again next week, he grinned at the television.  _I think I may have found my new favourite show._

He was alerted to another presence when he heard someone sniff across the room, and turned startled to see his grandma standing in the doorway, rubbing something in her eye.

"Grandma? What's the matter?" he asked worriedly.

His grandma smiled at him, her eyes glistening. "Nothing sweetheart," she said quietly. Kevin recognised that expression on her face. It was the same one she wore when he had got a really good test result at school, or when he had been very well behaved in public. It was a look of pride.

_But why? I haven't done anything._

As the credits came to an end, his grandma walked back into the kitchen. "Nothing is wrong at all," Kevin heard her say once more.

Kevin didn't really know why, but all of a sudden he felt incredibly happy. And that was good. Happy was good. Leaping to his feet he called out, "Let me come and help with dinner Grandma!" Adding, "I can tell you all about the doctor programme!"

The boy didn't realise it at the time, but watching that documentary on that rainy day would have a huge impact on his future. It would've been nice for him to say he knew that his path in life had changed direction at that very moment, but as it was so often with these things, it was merely a brief snapshot that could only be reflected on many years later.


	29. The Real Villain

_Doing the right thing for someone else occasionally means doing something that feels wrong to you. - Jodi Picoult, Handle with Care_

**Monday 26th February**

Avi was late. Actually Avi was really late, as in Scott had already been here twenty minutes late. Jeremy was not in the best of moods.  _Why do they have to take turns in performing the disappearing act?_

To make matters worse, all the kids were refusing to do work until the oldest boy appeared, claiming that they needed him around in order to concentrate. Jeremy knew they were worried but thought that statement was all a load of crap. However he feared they all might all illegally seize power of the classroom if he forced them to work when the eldest was absent.

They'd all worked well enough when one of the others had been missing, or at least tried to. This blatant refusal to take part in lessons felt like an unjust personal attack.  _What did I ever do to you lot?_  Yes, Avi was missing. Yes, Jeremy didn't like it. Did that mean the world should just stand still in waiting? No. He was being paid, a pitiful amount it was true, but he was being paid to do this jobs, and his job was to teach!

Psyching himself to man up against his students, he finally managed to get them all to start with their work, using everything his time at teaching school, what his mom had taught him, and what he had learnt since he started his job to get obedience out of all of them.

All that effort hardly seemed worth it when Avi walked in a few moments later. Or rather limped in. The teen's face had been absolutely battered, his right eye was so swollen it was almost closed shut, and his skin around that area was a nasty mixture of purple and yellow. His upper lip had also split open and was currently being held together with a few small butterfly stitches. There was no doubt someone had whacked the boy, and whacked the boy hard.

"Avi? What happened?" Jeremy instantly exclaimed, while the other kids gasped and rushed forward to check on him.

The boy tried to smile, but it was still obvious he was in pain. "Toby of course, and his gang of assholes," he replied, trying to seem nonchalant for Scott, who had literally just latched onto his waist, and Kevin, who was anxiously tugging at his jacket sleeve. "Had to take a brief nurses trip. Sorry. I already reported it," he added before Jeremy could say anything.

Avi locked eyes with Kirstie, as the girl came up to examine his face, tilting it side to side with her thumb.

"Toby did this to you?"

Avi nodded.

"You're saying Toby beat the crap out of your face?" Kirstie asked in doubt, one eyebrow raised.

"Not him exactly, one of his minions. Why? Is it that surprising?" Avi asked sharply.

Kirstie was surprised by his tone. "No it's...never mind," she let it go as Avi pushed past the younger teens and Jeremy, walking to his seat with Kevin and Scott still attached to him, as if they were worried that he would break if he let go.

To be honest, it looked to Jeremy that they might be hurting more than helping the boy, but Avi had the most incredible way with his youngest two, so much so that sometimes Jeremy felt the teen would make a better teacher for them.

"Does it hurt a lot Avi?" Scott asked, still pressed closely against Avi's side.

"No I'm okay," Avi tried to stress, but his body betrayed him when he sat down with a wince. He gave Scott's head a gentle nudge with his knuckle, "Don't worry midget man, I'm tougher than I look," and the little guy's face broke into a smile.

"Hey I'm not  _that_  small," the blond acted affronted by Avi's comment. "The doctor said I should be big!"

"So you keep saying," Mitch echoed his own views as he sat back down.

Jeremy didn't know what to do when Avi was like this anymore. Well this as in stoic and inexpressive, not as in beaten up, this was the first time Jeremy had seen just what these school bullies were capable of. He just couldn't understand. How could kids be capable of such cruelty?  _And against Avi? He's the sweetest young man I've ever met._

But when he didn't want to talk, he wasn't going to talk. Neither him or his other students had yet to find a way to to break through Avi's walls when he was in mute mode. Right now all Jeremy could think of doing was move on with the day and try and keep everything as normal and relaxed as possible for the boy.

He took his place at the front of the class and put his hands on his hips. "Well I have just the thing to cheer you up Avi," he informed him.

The teen raised his eyes. "Oh?"

"Calculus!" Jeremy announced, in an over-excited voice that calculus had never deserved.

Everyone groaned and Mitch began making retching sounds, pretending he was about to throw up on his desk. It was all fun and games until he somehow managed to actually choke on nothing and spent the next five minutes delaying the lesson even further while he coughed for real.

Eventually Mitch decided he wasn't dying and the lesson went extremely well. They all completed their work and were relatively silent, only their occasional anxious glances towards the eldest boy their only distraction. When lunch arrived, Kevin ran over to Avi and sat himself down on the floor in front of the older boy. "Avi you have to help me and Scott build our muscles!" he exclaimed, before starting to do a series of press-ups as Scott shouted the numbers. Avi just put his feet on him to use the boy as a foot rest.

While those three were busy, Jeremy used it as an opportunity to have a chat with the other two. "You two," he beckoned Mitch and Kirstie over. The two exchanged a look that asked each other if they were going to be in trouble. Coming up with no answer, they made their way over to the teacher.

"How much do you know about what Avi gets up to outside of school?" he asked discreetly when they got close enough, no point in tiptoeing around the question.

The two shared a look again and huddled closer. Mitch answered first. "Aside from shopping for clothes that indicates he get's his fashion sense from lumberjacks? Not much really...you Kirst?"

"No more than either of you," she muttered, shrugging her shoulders.

Glancing behind to make sure the others were still preoccupied with "swole check", Mitch peered back up at Jeremy and quietly mumbled, "Kevin might know stuff."

"Kevin?"

"Yeah, he likes researching stuff on everything...including Avi I guess." He then mentioned even quieter, "He might have mentioned something about an article."

 _An article? Has Kevin seen the same one I did?_  Why on earth would the eleven year old be reading that?

"Oh I think I've seen it," Jeremy added cooly, not wanting to act like it was a big deal if these two were still oblivious. He didn't think Avi would like everyone to know about his father's drunken antics.

Mitch let out a scornful laugh. "His dad looks like a royal jerk if you ask me."

Caught.

"I thought you hadn't seen it?" Jeremy quizzed.

Mitch's eyes went wide and for a second it seemed like he was going to try and figure out how to hide the truth again from his teacher but after Jeremy gave him his special teacher's glare, the boy relented. "Oh...well shit, I lied," he whispered. "It's not against the law to read the news is it?" he responded defensively.

Jeremy wasn't mad, only confused. "Why couldn't you just tell me?" he asked the teens.

Kirstie answered for them both. "Cos we've got Kevin to help us find out what's going on with Avi. His grandpa's a cop you know," her tone and posture implying she didn't care what Jeremy thought about it.

"Yeah. And we didn't want you to tell us off for sticking our noses in places they don't belong," Mitch finished, slightly less tongue-in-cheek, but still ready for a fight all the same.

Jeremy rubbed the back of his head. "I don't know guys, dragging Kevin's family into this..."

"We're not dragging anyone!" Both Jeremy and Mitch hushed Kirstie down. "We're not dragging them into anything," she repeated in a much lower volume. "Kevin said he'd do it. And seeing as you weren't prepared to do anything–"

Jeremy cut Kirstie off right there. "Wait, who says I'm not prepared?"

The girl looked at him petulantly. "You told us to stay out of it remember? The day he ran out of the class like a frightened animal."

The teacher shook his head in adamance. "Yes, I told you to stay out of it. That didn't include me," he clarified.

"You mean...?" Mitch trailed off, gazing at him expectantly.

"There's a reason I've seen that article too," Jeremy confirmed what the two teens were thinking.

Mitch was beaming all of a sudden, "I knew you cared Mr L," he said, giving Kirstie a nudge as if to say "I told you so".

"Yeah, believe it or not I actually care about my students," Jeremy half-heartedly joked, but Kirstie still wasn't satisfied.

"Sorry," she cut in briskly, "but I'm not telling Kevin to stop now. I don't care if this goes against your rules and regulations," she muttered those words like they disgusted her, "this is more important than all that."

Mitch rolled his eyes slightly at his friend's bull-headedness but spoke up to agree with her all the same. "Sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do right?" he pitched to Jeremy, his dark brown eyes practically begging him to agree.

"Right Mitch." He always had been a sucker to these kids and their pleading ways. "What's Kevin's grandpa going to be able to find out anyway?" he questioned, making his interest clear.

The two didn't really have a solid answer for him. "No idea," Mitch replied, "but I already don't like his dad from looking at photos of him. I've met guys like him before. Nasty pieces of work. Hopefully Kevin's old man can dig some dirt up on this guy."

Jeremy smiled sadly at the boy's instant distrust for the rich guy in the suit. "He could be a perfectly nice gentleman," he chided, even if he had experienced a similar reaction also when looking at the picture. There was just something about Mr Kaplan that screamed dodgy to say the least.

Mitch just gawped at him. " _Really_?" he queried and Jeremy knew full well the teen saw right through him.  _Oh my goodness, I feel like I'm becoming a part of some conspiracy_ , the young man thought as he agreed with their actions.  _At least a real police officer would have a better chance at finding out what's going on with Avi - if there is anything going on - than a helpless support teacher._

"Okay," his heard himself say to the youngsters before his brain even had time to process it. "But I want you all to handle everything with care and respect, especially if any of you find something else out. We're not playing detectives here. This is Avi's private life."

The two nodded seriously, both obviously shocked he wasn't demanding them to stop right away. Kirstie's expression had changed from downcast to daring, as she challenged her teacher again. "What are  _you_  gonna do then Mr L?"

"Me?"

"Yeah, what can you do from your important teaching position."

Jeremy exhaled loudly and wiped a hand over his eyes. "To be honest, not much more," he spoke from behind his hand, removing it to see that was the answer they had been expecting. Biting his lip he also added, "at least not within my boundaries..."

Both teens were listening to him intently now and Jeremy knew whatever he said next, he was going to be held to. Behind them he saw Avi allowing the two youngsters to hang off his arms like monkey's even with the bruising to his face and wherever else that must still be hurting. And he looked back to the students in front of him again.

"But y'know," he declared, smiling slightly, "I've always liked taking a little off-road route."


	30. A Day At The Zoo

_First love is only a little foolishness and a lot of curiosity. - George Bernard Shaw_

**Tuesday 4th March**

_Is it weird that I'm so excited about today?_

This year was proving to be a whole load of firsts for Avi. Enjoying school, laughing out loud, wearing new clothes, talking back to his father, talking in school...and now getting excited over a trip to the zoo.

Their teacher had surprised them all last week, basically bragging to the oldest three during a rainy lunch break of how he was able to take advantage of his "poor, weak and vulnerable kids" in order to get the trip paid for and approved by the school.

Mitch had then continued on with Mr L's charade and fallen to his knees in a show of bowing down and praying to their teacher, calling out "Thank you great one!" that had them all cracking up.

Avi had always liked the kid, even when he had been sullen and moody and had only regarded Avi with blank stares and terse answers. But now, after spending so much time with Scott in particular, he was beginning to really come into his own in terms of silliness and hyperactivity. In other words, he was a joy to be around.

Probably the more interesting part of that day had come when the young teacher had announced the same thing to Kevin and Scott, mainly because he had done it with a slight twist and the way Mr L had pitched it to the youngest two, hadn't gone quite like their teacher expected it to.

Seeing as the other three already knew, he'd told them to keep quiet so as to surprise the youngest boys in his own way, which was a nice idea in theory, but not at all well executed.

Scott and Kevin had come running in absolutely soaked from lunch and once they had taken their dripping coats off, Mr L had sat them down very seriously and began in a somber tone, "So guys, um...you're not going to be coming to school next Tuesday, because I'm sorry to tell you that I'm taking you out of school, because um, we...are going...to the zoo!"

The teacher had ended on a light note but the damage was already done. The two youngsters had been  _so freaked out_  by his tone of voice that they were not excited  _at all_. Scott had almost started crying he was so weirded out, and Kevin had just shouted "Oh my gosh!" in relief, "I thought you were gonna tell us that someone had passed away!"

Mr L had been dumbstruck, having been previously so excited for the expected joyous reaction, and had even allowed the boy's extra break time in form of an apology. As he passed Avi in his rounds later that day he'd whispered to him, "that's a teacher's lesson right there Avi, don't make it about yourself."

Avi had chuckled. He knew Mr L always meant well, even if he stumbled along the way sometimes. The teacher had recently been spending a lot of time talking to him over lunch, choosing to stay in the class rather than head to the staff room. Ever since Avi had walked in with half his face beat up - courtesy of his father losing a considerable sum of money - Mr L had been making a much greater amount of effort to learn more about Avi.

Avi enjoyed the chats, but could never tell the young man all he wanted to know. He was a master at evading questions from teachers, having had practice at his previous schools. He did feel bad though. He knew Mr L was a great guy, but he couldn't tell him anything. Besides, from what he'd revealed to Avi that one morning, he was planning to head out as soon as possible. He'd forget about Avi's problems in due course.

Avi wouldn't wish his problems on anyone else anyway. Really, he thought, he wasn't doing too badly since he had started talking back to his father. On the first day he had opened his mouth it had shocked the man so much that he had left Avi alone and got even more drunk instead. That day had certainly been hectic to say the least and ever since the two had avoided contact with each other where possible, his father only seeking him out when the increasing pressure from his work meant he needed to release his rage on someone.

The teen stared out of the window of the minibus - another thing Mr L had managed to get out of the school - and watched the scenery pass by. Even though he was a shadow of the former silent Avi, he was still an observer at heart, preferring to sit back and laugh at the others cause a riot rather than take part himself. Maybe he would be that wild one day, but for now he still remained fairly reserved.

When they had arrived, handed over their pre-paid tickets and found their way to the main area, Mr L had given Kevin a strict talking to about not running off like last time at the museum. Of course as he had been doing this, almost straightaway Scott had nearly lost his prized pokemon hat by trying to reach down into an enclosure to put it on a seal.

No one quite knew where that hat had come from. The youngest had just turned up wearing it one day with no explanation. But it had been the day after both he and Mitch had gone awol, and whenever it was mentioned the two would share a knowing look with one another. Yeah, Avi had pretty good idea of where that hat came from.

In an attempt to keep chaos to a minimum, Mr L had gratefully handed Scott off to Avi and kept Kevin close by to himself, worried that if the two were allowed together for a long time period they'd find a way into the lion enclosure.

Avi was absolutely fine with that arrangement. Scott was like his little ray on sunshine. A reliable source of constant entertainment and conversation, plus it didn't hurt that the youngster was possibly the cutest looking kid in the world, in that kind of old-fashioned poster boy sense. As he wandered around the zoo with the boy by his side, he frequently noticed other people sending affectionate smiles or compliments of "what a charming boy" his way. It gave Avi quite a sense of pride.

 _Now I can see why Mitch is by your side all the time_ , he contemplated, as Scott jumped up and down eagerly next to the meerkat enclosure.

"Getting ready to meet the kangaroos Scotty?" Avi asked.

"I caan't seee!" the boy complained, pouting at his friend, and Avi felt he had no choice but to lift the blond up underneath his arms to get a look at the little critters.  _Damn, I swear this kid is having a shrink spurt, not a growth spurt._

The teen, along with all the others, often fretted about the youngest's health and whether he was eating enough, consistently asking him questions and buying as much food for him at lunch as he wanted. But there was only so much they could do without knowing more about how bad the kid was for money at home, and Scott usually got frustrated or confused if they began interrogating him too much. Some situations were just too complicated to process for a nine year old's brain.

 _At least he's happy_ , Avi thought as the blond squealed in laughter at the meerkats.  _Huh, they always looked a lot bigger on TV_ , he observed, gazing down at the tiny mammals all falling asleep on their hind legs.  _They remind me a bit of Mitch._

At the next enclosure - the hippos - he had to do Scott the same favour of lifting him up. Not that it made much difference, the fat lumps were apparently shy and decided to hide underwater for as long as possible. Long enough for Scott to ask the zookeeper if they were invisible anyway.

They let the anti-social hippos be and moved on. However Scott had now caught on that Avi would pick him up when the barriers were too tall, so began claiming that he couldn't see at every enclosure they stopped at, even when he quite clearly could, until the eldest just decided it was easier to have the blond on his shoulder's the whole time than having him yapping in his ear.

When they got in sight of the others again, Kevin had been a bit jealous by the benefits of Scott's view and had tried to get Mitch to carry him too.

"No way! You're basically the same height as me!" Mitch yelled, struggling to break free of the younger boy's tight grip.

Scott laughed at the craziness, "See Kevo? Being small is awesome sometimes!"

Avi watched as the two boys continued scuffling, a fond smile on his face, and added, "Hey Kevin, why don't you show everyone here how swole you are?"

That had Kevin stopping in his tracks - just like Avi knew it would - a cheeky grin forming on his face while Mitch just looked confused.

"Swole? What the heck does–ah Kevin  _put me down_!" he shrieked when he suddenly found himself being picked up by the younger boy and getting comically carried around. If Avi had to describe the image he would say it looked like Kevin was a happy predator heaving around his slightly larger, and very squirmy, prey.

Avi enjoyed the show for a bit and then left the two idiots to it, strolling off chuckling to go and look at the bears. Not that he was bigging himself up, but he did surprisingly seem to have a way with words, in terms of resolving a situation. It must be genetics because there was no way he gained that trait from his father.

He felt his heart warm as Scott wrapped his arms around Avi's neck, giving him a gentle hug. "You're the nicest person ever Avi!" he told him, peering down over Avi's head so the teen had a strange upside down view of him.

He pulled a funny face to make the boy laugh and graciously accepted the compliment, "Thank you Scotty. You're nice too."

"I'm glad you're speaking now."

"Me too."

 _Now, bears._  Or singular bear as it seemed. One old, grizzly male. The two boys pressed their faces up against the glass but all they could make out was a large, furry, brown lump which was supposedly a bear.

Kirstie walked up to join them. "Why are all these dumb animals sleeping?" she questioned accusingly, as if the animals were doing it on purpose.

"I guess they don't have to worry about hunting for food. It's what I'd be doing!" Avi pondered.

Kirstie gave a short nod, seemingly agreeing with Avi's assessment, and peered up at the boy above his head. "Get down. You're nine not two," she ordered, and before Avi could even bend down so Scott could dismount, the boy had taken a terrifying leap, launching himself right off Avi's shoulders and catching some serious air before landing like a mini ninja.

"Jeez Scotty!" Avi fretted, "Don't scare me like that!"

"Oh...sorry," Scott apologised, although it was clear he was unsure what the problem was. 

 _Guess he's seen and done much more dangerous stuff in his neighbourhood_ , and the teen's outburst was just seen as an over-reaction.

Avi noticed Kirstie had been watching this little scene with an amused expression planted on her face, clearly enjoying seeing him get so comically worked up.

The girl walked a little closer to him. "Can we talk?" she asked, her voice nonchalant but her eyes hopeful.

His interest was immediately piqued. "Sure," he replied amiably and saw Kirstie immediately relax.

Before she stared to addressed the still present youngster. "That means without you," she growled at Scott, who was standing between them, gaping up at the two with an intense eagerness, like he was about to watch a show.

_Kevin better not have been putting ideas into his head._

The blond poked his tongue out. "You can't make me," he bickered in a sing-song voice.

Kirstie did not look impressed, and Avi briefly worried the two might start fighting again. He studied the girl closely as she closed her eyes, took a deep breath...and pounced. "Roar!" she bellowed, lunging towards the youngest like a ferocious tigress.

Avi would deny all later but Kirstie did a pretty good job at scaring him more than Scott, who just screamed and ran off laughing like a maniac towards the penguins.

"Glad to see you two are getting along again," Avi congratulated the other teen, shaking his head in wonderment.

"Yeah well...you were right. I wasn't doing either of us any favours," Kirstie admitted.  _That's good_ , Avi decided. The tension in the class had completely disappeared since the two had stopped snapping at each other and both high rise kids were noticeably more content.

They both turned to watch the snoring grizzly bear. "What was it you wanted to talk about then?" Avi invited her to start, proud of himself for doing so. Starting conversations was always what he found hardest.  _How do some people make it look so easy?_  Talking to people, even ones you knew, was just stressful sometimes.

Still focusing her attention into the enclosure the girl replied, "Nothing in particular. More of just wanting to say thanks."

"Thanks? What for?"

"Y'know," Kirstie shrugged like the answer was clear. "God, guys are so dumb sometimes," she complained when it became clear that the answer was not clear to a clearly confused Avi. "I wanted to thank you for helping me see sense that day, with the little rat and all," she explained.

"Ah, our time behind the bookcase," Avi reminisced, and Kirstie sent him a playful glare.

"Don't remind me," she scolded jokingly, giving his shoulder a light push. At least now they were facing each other rather than talking via the bear.

"That was all you wanted to talk about?" he asked, sensing there was still more to be said.  _Hey, this is good! I'm carrying on the conversation like a normal person!_

"Well...no, there was one more thing," Kirstie admitted, and then shifted her gaze from him awkwardly. This was a first. Nothing Kirstie ever did was remotely awkward in his eyes anyway, and Avi almost felt as if he shouldn't be witnessing this part of her personality.

"You're lying," the girl accused him out of the blue.

That had not what he'd been expecting and he had no reply.  _I'm lying...?_

"You're lying," Kirstie continued, looking directly at him, "about Toby and his gang. They didn't beat you up, I made sure they wouldn't." The fixed expression on her face told him she was certain about that fact.

 _She made sure they wouldn't?_  True, he hadn't been harassed lately but Avi had thought it was because they didn't recognise him in his new get up or something. Or that maybe they had found some other poor victim to torment. But was Kirstie saying she personally had a hand in it?

Scott's voice from months ago came echoing back to him: " _Kirstie punched Toby in the face this morning!_ " Could that really have been for him?

Kirstie mistook his bewildered silence for stubbornness and sighed, "Look, you don't have to say anything or explain yourself. I just wanted to say that...well you were there for me; if there's ever anything you want to talk about I've got two ears ready okay?" The pitch of her voice got higher at the end. She was nervous about offering help.

Avi gave her a small smile but neither accepted or rejected her offer. The girl hadn't been wrong about the first part. There was no way Avi was saying anything right now. Even if he had wanted to his tongue felt numb, like it wouldn't be able to find the correct words. As for the second part, while he appreciated the gesture, he could never imagine talking to anyone about his "problems". He'd kept quiet for so long now it was all he knew.

Caught up in his thoughts, he had failed to notice Kirstie reaching out for him and blinked slowly as he realised the girl's hand was suddenly very near his face.  _Uhh...is she punching me in slow motion?_

Fortunately that wasn't on her agenda today. "Glad to see it's nearly healed, bruising doesn't suit your pretty green eyes," she whispered, lightly touching the skin around his once busted eye.

The phrase,  _Ow, that's still a bit painful_ , briefly crossed his mind before it settled on more important matters.  _Did she just say I had pretty eyes?_  Since when did people like Kirstie give compliments like that to guys like him?

A confidence Avi didn't know he had inside lead to him conjuring up a cocky grin. "Didn't know you'd been looking," he jested.

Kirstie smiled back but didn't remove her fingers. A flash of nervousness crossed her eyes but more than anything she seemed curious. Avi could tell she was planning something. Watching her every move intently, he felt his muscles tightening as the girl did the exact opposite of removing her hand. Still with that glint of curiosity shining in her eyes, ever so slowly she began to move her face closer to his, in turn bringing his down with her hand.

Avi almost wasn't breathing anymore.  _What do I do? What do I do? What do I do?_  Inside his head there was a mini Avi rocking back and forth on the floor in a complete panic, but on the outside he managed to stay mostly sane.

Kirstie's actions were so unexpected, and yet, somehow it felt so...so right. He couldn't explain it, he'd never felt this way before. Nevertheless, Avi was petrified.  _I'm going to mess this up somehow._  His eyes were bulging as he gazed down at the girl's face. The beautiful cat-like eyes, shapely nose, and pink lips.  _Is this happening? Is this really going to happen?_  He could feel his heart racing as Kirstie got even closer. At that moment he lost all ability to breathe, his mouth going completely dry. He shut his eyes.

"Oh wow! Look over here!"

The impromptu moment was interrupted when an excited gaggle of second grade age children ran up to them, charging between the two teens so they were rudely split up. At first Avi had been so disoriented that he thought they'd come to laugh at them. That was until he glanced to his left and saw the sleepy grizzly was now not so sleepy, and was in fact right by the glass.

The two teens jumped back in surprise, while more people crowded around to try and get a view of the magnificent beast, cameras and phones raised.

Avi sent a hateful glare it's way.  _Were you watching us dude? Seriously, not cool._

He turned back and to his dismay saw that Kirstie was making a quick retreat. "Uh, I'm gonna check if Mitchy's freed himself from Kevin," she told him. "You should check Scott's not swimming with the penguins or something," she gave him a small smile, that look of curiosity completely gone now.

And then she was off, leaving Avi alone amongst the crowd and the bear. The boy groaned out loud, not caring about the strange looks he received.  _You're the ones who interrupted me!_  Well that opportunity was almost certainly never going to arise again. Kirstie had realised what she had been doing and what a horrible mistake it would have been.  _If only we'd had a few more seconds_ , Avi wishfully thought.  _Who knows what might've happened?_

Luck never went his way though. Embarrassed and annoyed, he marched off to find Scott, discreetly holding up his middle finger to the grizzly as he left.

_Damn bears._


	31. Lose A Tooth, Lose A Home

_Boys like it when you talk to them as if they were grown men—at least he always did when he was a kid—because they pretend that's what they are anyhow, grown-up men. - Russell Banks, Lost Memory of Skin_

**Later that day...**

For Scott, the whole day had been pretty super definitely awesome if he did say so himself. He had never been to a zoo before and the most he'd ever seen of animals had been in picture books or on Kevin's TV. In real life they were a lot noisier and a hell of a lot stinkier, especially the elephants.

The highlight of the day had to have been when he'd been chosen by the zookeeper to help feed the penguins some really smelly fish and some of the cheeky birds had started nibbling at his shoes. Then when he was bending over to reach one of the shyer penguins, another cheeky one had jumped up onto his back.

Scott had found it hilarious, as did most of the other visitors, who had all taken advantage of the perfect photo opportunity. By the end of the experience the youngster was probably on at least fifty other people's camera roll, and the staff even came up to Mr L to ask if they could use the photo for their annual magazine. Scott had said yes straight away but his teacher was boring and said he would have to check with his mom first.

_Good luck getting hold of her._

His second favourite moment had been seeing the fennec foxes, which were perhaps the cutest little critters he had ever seen, and he had started pleading to Mitch to buy him one. Mitch told him if he still wanted one when he was eighteen he'd get it for him. Scott didn't believe that for one second.

All in all, the whole day had been one of the best days in his whole life but now, sadly, it was half five and they were going to have to leave soon.

"My mama said that it was okay," Scott sang quietly to himself, "mama said that it was quite alright, our kind of people had a bed for the night and it was okay."

There was a strange feeling he always felt whenever it was the end of his time with his friends and his teacher. Scott often thought about it and had decided he wouldn't be against just living at the school, like rich kids did at boarding school's. That way he'd never have to say goodbye at the end of the day.

"Mama told us we were good kids, and Mr L told me never listen to the ones, pointing nasty fingers and making fun, cos I'm a good kid," he chirped, changing the lyrics slightly.

Right now, he and Kevin were walking along the wall next to the path. The group had finished exploring and were back in the main area and Scott, who had been concentrating purely on looking where his feet were going, failed to notice that there happened to be a large hanging basket of flowers before him, and walked straight into it.

"Careful Scott!" Jeremy fussed, as the blond brought up his hand to rub his head, while the flower basket swung precariously behind him.

He wasn't hurt, however things escalated when Kevin, who had twisted his head around to look at the younger boy and laugh gleefully also ended up walking into a hanging basket, getting dirt and dead petals all over his clothes.

_Ha! Serves you right!_

The other three were just in fits of giggles. "You're both as bad as each other!" Kirstie exclaimed, grabbing onto Mitch for support as laughter racked her body.

Mr L was simply shaking his head, astounded by them both. "Oh for goodness sake, just get down you two!" He waved his arm at them, ordering them off.

Both boys grinned sheepishly at the others but were obedient enough and hopped down. Mr L grabbed them both at the back of their necks once they were safely on the floor and pulled them to his side.

"Jeez, what must people think of me?" he exasperated, trying to sound annoyed but Scott heard the slight laughter in his voice too.

He gazed up at his teacher, blue eyes filled with adoration. "That you're awesome for bringing us here?" he suggested.

Mr L laughed out loud. "Oh yeah, that's right," he agreed, ruffling Scott's hair. "Should I go one step further and be more awesome then?"he queried, chuckling when all five young faces turned to him in anticipation.

"I vote you should definitely be more awesome!" Kevin said, jumping up and down.

The young man rolled his eyes and slumped his shoulders, pretending the decision was a very strenuous one for him to make. "Alright, dinner's on me," he moaned over-dramatically.

"Yeah!" Scott shouted out excitedly, along with the other kids. Food paid for by other people  _always_  tasted the best and it meant he got to spend even more time not on his own in an apartment.

At the zoo's packed themed restaurant - The Jungle Bar - Scott ordered a cheeseburger that was the same size of his head with a huge side of cheesy fries and a strawberry milkshake. He couldn't quite believe it but this food was quite possibly even better than Chipotle. He didn't have much experience in the matter but already Scott wondered why people didn't eat out every single day, those who could afford it anyway, it was just so much cooler!

_When I'm a millionaire I'm gonna eat fast food every day!_

For once in his remembered life, the young boy ate until he was completely full. In fact he had made everyone laugh when he told them he thought something was growing inside him, having never felt the sensation of eating that much food before. With his friends all joking and chatting around him, the funny tribal music playing in the background, and his mood sky high and his stomach very happy, the natural entertainer in the youngster came bursting out. 

"Guys, guys! Watch this." he told everyone, and pointed to a family eating in their eye line.

"Mmm nam!" Scott said in a funny voice when the large man across the room bit in to his pizza. "Nomnomnom," he continued as the man happily chewed down his food. It didn't do the guy any favours that he ate with his mouth open.

"Hey," Mr L nudged him with his elbow, presumably to imply he should stop being so silly, but Scott saw the smirk on his teacher's face and he was in no mood to stop acting the fool, not when he had everyone's attention. Not when he was making his friends happy.

He carried on lip-syncing the strangers meal, inserting rude comments or making gross slurping sounds when they had their drinks. At one point he blew a massive raspberry when one of the sons bent over to pick something up off the floor, which made some of his friend's nearly choke on their own food through laughter.

As Scott was laughing at himself he felt something rattle around in his mouth. His right canine had been loose for some time now, and it was a pastime with all his baby teeth that the boy would twist them all the way round with his tongue when they got that insecure - Mitch absolutely hated when he did that! However this time when he twisted it he felt a certain familiar twinge and let out a cry of surprise.

"Ah!"

"What's the matter Scotty?" Mitch asked, immediately concerned.

Scott placed his hand over his mouth. "My tooth fell out!" he revealed, before spitting the tiny white canine out. "One of the vampire ones," he held it up to show everyone.

"Ew little rat," Kirstie pulled a disgusted face. "Some of us are still eating."

"Oh thank goodness," Mitch huffed. "Now you can't twist it any more and freak me out!"

"Look at that," his teacher smiled at him. "You're definitely a big kid now little rascal."

Scott nodded thoughtfully.  _I am a big kid! I'm gonna catch up with Mitch soon._ The blond looked up at his teacher, "Should I put it in the trash?" he asked.

"What? No!" Kevin interjected. "You've gotta take it home to your mom Scotty. So you can give it to the tooth fairy."

 _How old does he think I am?_  In fact, Scott didn't think he'd ever believed in the tooth fairy. There was a vague memory from when he was about three and his dad had joked around saying she was like a drug dealer, but he had always just thrown them away. Teeth were worth nothing in his world, unless they were made of gold like that one his neighbour Michael had.

Scott pulled a face at the slightly older boy. "I know that's not real Kevo. I'll put it in the trash," he decided, grateful that Kevin's face didn't fall too much.  _Good, I was almost certain Kevin didn't believe in that dumb tale, but it woulda sucked if I'd been the one to break it to him._

He zipped over to the nearest trash can, darting between tables, pretending they were alligators, and calling out a cheeky "Sup!" to the family he had utilised for victims of his comedy act. They just all turned to stare at him blankly, making the boy suddenly feel very self conscious, and he hurriedly made his way back to his own table.

_They were a lot scarier close up._

"Hey little rascal," Mr L greeted him, "smile for Kevin," he instructed, as the eleven year old held up his smartphone.

Scott wore his best Cheshire cat grin, poking his tongue out between the recently formed gap. "Do I look cool?" he queried, leaping up to try and see the screen.

"Very cool," Kevin responded, showing Scott the funny photo.

They stayed at the restaurant for a bit longer. Mr L even ordered them ice creams after they all assured him that they weren't full at all, and when they had realised their eyes were bigger than their stomachs their evil, cruel teacher still made them finish every last spoonful. Therefore, when it finally came to leave, it was five sickly looking kids who heaved themselves back onto the minivan and one very smug looking teacher.

It was nearly seven o'clock now and Scott was beginning to feel a bit tired; he had barely slept the night before as he sat up waiting for a mom that never turned up. Not in the mood for joking around with the rest he quickly bagged a window seat and leant his head against the cool glass; not even shifting when he felt someone sit down beside him, assuming it was either Mitch or Kevin.

The blond could feel his eyes drifting shut as the bright city lights flicked by, sending him into a sort of trance, and the chatter in the minivan became a distant, dull noise. The youngster was almost about to fall asleep when the person next to him suddenly spoke up.

"How's things at home?" He looked blearily across at the question, surprised to find Kirstie sitting there.

The young boy yawned. "Umm, normal I guess. Why?" he asked, confused by the query.

"No reason," the girl replied. "Just y'know, wondered. Your mom still the same then?"

Scott wriggled in his seat until he was facing her, the side of his face planted against the backrest. "If you mean, is she still never around, then yes," he revealed.

"Right," Kirstie crisply said.

The boy stared up at her, face still resting against the back of the seat, and yawned once more before asking in a small voice, "We are friends aren't we Kit Kat?"

The girl's eyes widened as she turned to look at him. "Yeah of course." She bit her lip. "We're a match made in hell my little rat," she sighed softly and put an arm around him, pulling him close.

There was no doubt the action startled Scott, but this wasn't a first. She had after all hugged him a few weeks ago but Scott thought maybe it was her "time of the month" also, as it always seemed to make his mom's mood unpredictable. However a month had not yet passed, so she must have her arm around him purely because she wanted too. It felt nice.

He knew if some of the boys from his hood saw him hugging a girl the teasing would be relentless but they weren't here, and Kirstie was comfy, so he stayed exactly where he was and was fast asleep with five minutes.

When he next awoke, the figure next to him had gone, and it was Kevin shaking him awake.

"Yo Scotty, Mr L says he don't wanna be driving no further into the West Rises. You be okay from here?"

The young blond replied he would be fine and said his farewells. "Bye guys!" he called out to the three kids left in the minivan, as he hopped out the side door. "Thanks again Mr L!" he said appreciatively, waving to his teacher who gave him a salute before driving the others to their own homes.

Scott was surprised to learn he was actually closer to home than he had expected. His teacher had been daring enough to basically drop him off a block away from his own tower block. Stealthily and vigilantly he made his way down the sidewalk, swiftly leaping over a fence when he came upon two separate gangs of teenagers waving their guns about.

 _Dumb kids_ , Scott thought as he entered his building.  _Mitch was right. That ain't the right sorta life for me. It shouldn't be for anyone._

The young boy had a sense of foreboding before he even arrived home; and as soon as he got to his apartment door he could tell something was off. There were no visible signs but some sort of sixth sense forewarned Scott that something wasn't right before he even unlocked the door.

He entered into the darkness and immediately reached up and flipped the light switch. His eyes widened in horror at what was before him...or rather the lack of what was before him. All their stuff, bar the furniture and the fixed items, had vanished.

"Mom? Mom are you here?" Scott called out nervously, as he made his way to their bedroom. That had been stripped clear too, with only the old mattress left lonely on the floor.  _I'm not scared, don't be scared. I gotta pretend I'm an adult like Mr L. They don't get scared_ , he tried to comfort himself but the youngster could feel his heart rate pick up and tears forming in his eyes. 

Suddenly he heard the unmistakeable click of the door followed by footsteps.  _Mom?_

"Hello?" he daringly spoke up, cautiously moving back into the main room.

"Oh Scotty baby, I was hoping you'd be back." He didn't think he'd ever been more relieved to see his mom as he ran up to give her a massive hug. The woman ruffled his hair slightly, unaware of the panic attack her son had been about to have, as she tried to release herself from his grip. "How was the zoo?" she asked once she was finally free.

"Mom what's going on? Where's all our stuff?" he asked, ignoring her question as the blonde woman began to rush around their apartment, opening drawers and cupboards and stuffing belongings into her backpack. She looked out of breath and restless, and there was a certain nervous glint in her eye that frightened him.

"I've moved most of it out," she answered, still zipping about. "We've got to stay somewhere else for a little bit sweetheart."

Well that much was obvious to him, but what Scott really needed an answer to was: "But  _why_  are we leaving our home?"

His mom stopped in her tracks, taking a few deep breaths. "This is not our home anymore Scotty. If anyone asks, you've never lived here before in your life," she instructed, leaving Scott feeling just more confused and more annoyed with this abrupt move out.

"But  _why_?" he whined.

"We just...we just can't be here for a while," his mom evaded the question still and zipped up her backpack, holding her hand out.

Scott obediently went over to take it, asking, "Are we in trouble?"

_I feel like we are definitely in trouble. Is it cos I stole this hat?_

"No, no, you aren't in trouble at all sweetie," his mom said in a happy tone, but her son was observant enough to notice that she had used the word "you" instead of "we".

"Where are we going?" he went on again, as his mom pulled him to the door, picking up his coat on the way.

"We're going to a house that has lots of families in it," she explained, slipping the old jacket on him before squinting, having taken a proper look at him for the first time that night. "Have you lost a tooth?"

"Nnhnn," Scott replied, showing her his pearly whites.

The young woman smiled, and pinched his cheek. "Well then you certainly are a big boy now aren't you?"

Scott shrugged. "I guess," he muttered. His mood had seriously plummeted from this sudden uproot, one that he had no idea why it was necessary.

 _Why can't we move in the daytime when I'm more awake?_ All he wanted to do right now was go to bed.

Seeing that her son was very close to throwing a rare tantrum, his mom used both hands to force him to look at her. "I need you to be that big boy now Scotty," she pleaded with him. "I need you to be very brave and very quiet okay? We want no one to pay attention to us as we leave. Can you be a little shadow for a while?" Scott could tell she was deadly serious.

The little blond swallowed the lump of fear in his throat and gave her a short nod. "Yep," he promised.

"Good boy. I love you." She gave him a kiss and stood up. "Alright c'mon," she said, trying to sound as optimistic as possible as she led him out through the door and away from the only home he had ever known. He really wished Mitchy was here, or Mr L, or any of his friends come to think of it. They could always put him in a better mood.

 _Bye bye_ , Scott sent his farewell wishes to his apartment before sorrowfully turning his head away.

As he followed his mom silently down the stairwell and out into the darkness Scott wandered how days could be flipped so dramatically. This morning the most worry he had felt had been when that naughty seal tried to snatch his hat away from him. Now he was scared beyond belief at where he was headed now and more importantly,  _why?_

Why was the big question here. What had made his mom so frightened that she had decided they had to leave home? And where on earth were they going?  _Someplace that has lots of families in it?_  His tower block had lots of families in it so maybe they were just going to another one. Maybe that wouldn't be so bad.

 _I didn't even get to say goodbye to Michael,_  the boy thought sadly, as they reached a bus stop and his mom pulled him onto her lap, holding him close.

Scott wanted nothing more than to cry right then and there at the unfairness of it all, but he had promised that he would be brave and it was illegal to break promises. Anyways at least he had one thing. He had his mom, right? And like she was always saying, as long as they were together, nothing bad would ever happen.


	32. Empathy Is The Key

_No one cares how much you know, until they know how much you care. - Theodore Roosevelt_

**Monday 10th March**

Jeremy had always been a sympathetic young man. Always a shoulder for his friends when they needed to cry, a good ear when they needed to get something off their chest or a bartender when they simply needed to get very, very drunk.

Sympathy when you thought about it, came quite easy. It was just the act of understanding that someone was having a rough time and in turn expressing your sorrow for them. Empathy on the other hand was always a tricky one, but his mother had always instilled in him that empathy was integral to becoming not just a good teacher, but a life changing one.

She told him any teacher could be sympathetic; listen to the troubles his or her students had with an open ear and express sadness for what they were going through. That was good to an extent but it was still an exclusive kind of teaching. Empathy on the other hand involved delving into your own vulnerable side in order to truly relate to the child. That was inclusive teaching. It was what made the difference.

So far Jeremy had tried this approach as much as possible, even if his own experiences seemed tame compared to what his students were going through; anything was better than nothing. With Mitch he would talk about how the teaching world was extremely ruthless, and how many of his friends had given up on their dreams because the rate of pay was so low. With Avi he spoke about his own experiences with bullying growing up, how the kids had made fun of him because he preferred choir over football.

And even though he couldn't relate as directly with Kirstie and Kevin he could still find a certain level of commonality. He could talk to Kirstie about how the pressures doing right by your family could put you under a great amount of stress, and how that had lead him to make rash decisions in the past; and he let Kevin know that his own father had walked out on their family when Jeremy was still very small, with absolutely no explanation bar a simple note that said he'd found someone else.

Yeah...even though most of his problems were a fraction of what his kids were going through, opening up to them on that personal level and letting them know that he had felt those same emotions they were having meant they could see him as more than just someone they had to get grades for and respect and obey at all times. He was a real, living, breathing person. One who could hurt just as much as they did.

It had been a long process, with his efforts being met with sarcastic remarks or comments of "You would never understand Mr L," but by now, even the most hard-headed of his students - i.e. Kirstie Maldonado - would occasionally talk to him about stuff going on in their home lives that was causing them agitation.

In relation, for the last few days of the previous week Jeremy had suspected the youngest had been hiding something from him. And not something like the newest hiding place for Kevin's packets of sweets. No, there was something troubling that boy a great deal. His smile wasn't quite as bright, his chatter not as enthusiastic.

Most people would see Scott as an open book, and the young boy was very open up to a point. He was always engaging in conversations and adding his opinion to the mix. He would laugh, whine, shout and, unfortunately, swear whenever he felt the need to. The youngster wore his heart on his sleeve like it was his trademark. But there was always something simmering just under the surface with Scott. Jeremy didn't know what it was, but either way he would never unveil the whole picture with the blond until it was revealed willingly by the kid himself.

Well today was his lucky day it seemed.

He had noticed his students had become slightly restless during an afternoon lesson, crowding around Scott's desk, and quietly told them to get on with their work and sort the issue out afterwords, or if it was that important, to tell him now.

The older four kids had muttered stuff to each other for a few more seconds before sliding their chairs back to their respective workplaces. Only Scott had remained anxiously chewing his pen instead of using it to write out the math equations.

Jeremy knew that look on the kid's face. It was the one that said he had a question, and he patiently waited until the boy raised his hand.

"Mr L?" the boy tentatively called out.

"Yes Scott?" Jeremy gave him a friendly smile as he made his way over to the little guy.

The boy squirmed in his chair a little, clearly nervous about whatever the was about to say. "Can...can I tell you something?"

Jeremy crouched down beside his desk. "Always little rascal," he said softly.

"I told all the others so it don't matter if they hear or nothing," Scott told him, to let the teacher know their conversation didn't have to be in "inside voice" as Jeremy always called it. "I wanted to tell you before but I was worried what you'd say. I mean I'm sure–"

Avi interrupted him, which was a rarity. "Scotty just tell him. It'll be fine," he added with a comforting smile.

"C'mon kiddo," Jeremy encouraged, giving the messy blond hair a ruffle, "you've never had a problem talking to me before."

Scott sighed and nodded, beginning, "Well...y'know when we went to the zoo and it was really awesome."

"Yeah."  _That day was actually nowhere near as stressful and a lot more enjoyable than I imagined it would be._

Scott nodded once more, before blurting his tale out in nearly one breath. "Well when you dropped me back I got home and all my stuff was gone and then my mom came back and said we had to leave and I had to be quiet, which I was cos I'm big now that I lost that tooth, and then we left our block and I didn't say bye to Michael or nobody cos we were in a rush, and we got a bus which had these scary teenagers on it and then we got off and now we're somewhere not in either of the Rises we're in the bit in between I don't really know where yet, not the touristy part the downtown part, and we're living with lots of different people who don't have no homes either." The boy took a deep breath after that monologue and turned to his teacher with a worried look on his face. "There, that's all I wanted to say."

Jeremy blinked a few times, his brain not quite processing exactly what Scott had just divulged to him. "Okay so that was quite a lot to take in at once Scott," he began. "You said you're living with lots of different people?"

"Yeah aka a homeless shelter Mr L," Mitch broke in, his usual gentle demeanour replaced with a hard one.

Scott turned his head to his lap at the anger in his friend's voice. "Yep, you can call it that I guess..." he muttered.

 _This is not what I need right now_ , were the young man's first selfish thoughts. Another problem to add to the long list his kids already had. "Scotty," he grabbed the boy's shoulder, "can you tell me the name of the shelter?" he asked, desperate for more information on the situation.

"Umm," was all youngster had to say as he avoided eye contact with everyone.

"That's what we've been trying to get out of him for four days," Mitch huffed, folding his arms.

"Well it doesn't have a name!" Scott frustratingly exclaimed, his voice raising in pitch and volume, obviously not enjoying the interrogation.

"But what about the address midget man? What street's it on?" Avi asked, calmly as possible, but his eyes were hungry for answers as well.

"I'm not s'posed to say," the boy replied. His voice once again a quiet murmur.

"Says  _who_?" Mitch cried out, exasperated.

"Ev'body at the place, you're not meant to tell anyone, 'cept those on a need a to know basis or summin'."

Jeremy had no clue what on earth Scott was going about. The youngster was sounding like he'd come straight out of spy movie with that sort of talk. "Why? Why the secrecy?" He knew the constant questioning was getting to the boy but unfortunately Jeremy wasn't going to let up until he got some decent answers that would allow him to sleep at night.

Scott just peered up at him, his blue eyes threatening to spill tears and the young teacher could see him biting his lip, like he had to force himself to stop his mouth spitting the truth out. Jeremy felt cruel but if this was the only way to get answers out of Scott he'd have to deal with a few nine year old boy's tears on his conscience.

The boy took a few more shaky breaths, "It's–"

"So people like me don't find out," Kirstie cut in, giving the boy a wink. "It's alright Scott, I get it."

Scott gave her an apologetic look. "I promised them all I wouldn't tell, shook hands and everything," he said in a small voice.

"And you're a man to your word, that's awesome kid," the older girl smiled.

Jeremy raised his eyebrows at her. "Care to fill us in Kirstie?"

The girl wandered over to Scott's desk and sat down on top. "This is gonna sound crazy to you amateurs but there are places, kinda like safe houses for people from the Rises, dotted about the city, some for West, some for East," she explained gesturing to herself and the young boy. "They're not official or run by any organisation, more like underground, actually a few are literally underground."

 _So our Scott is in a safe house? Jeez, what has this kid got himself into?_ Jeremy's first thought was to call social services but if this kid was in danger...maybe he was in the safest place?

"Why would people go to these places?" the teacher asked, still focused on Kirstie, seeing as she was the one with all the answers.

The teen waved her hand about to imply there was no singular answer. "Usually when they're in trouble with the rival gang, so much so that they wouldn't be safe to stay where they are. That's why Scotty can't tell someone like me where he's at," she revealed.

The answers he had been provided with so far were absolutely terrifying but at least they satisfied Jeremy's need for knowledge to a point, as well as Avi and Kevin, but Mitch was not done yet.

"What about one of us? We're not involved with any of the gangs?" he asked with gritted teeth.

"Cos then he'd risk the place getting raided by the cops," Kirstie reluctantly confessed. "You have to understand guys," she sighed, "that a lot of people who hole up in these places are wanted for murder, theft, sexual assault, you name it, there's probably someone there who's done it."

 _Which one of those is Scott guilty of?_  Jeremy sarcastically thought. Suddenly this safe house didn't sound very safe at all.

Mitch narrowed his eyes, also standing up to walk back to them. "So what is  _he_  doing with those people?" he demanded to know, pointing his finger at Scott.

"Hey, I'm still here y'know," the blond grumpily interjected.

"And I," Kirstie objected, "can't answer that question."

 _She's lying._  Jeremy just knew she was lying. He probably wouldn't have taken the slight halt in her tone for anything of notice if he hadn't already heard her say, " _tell him what he wants to hear, not what he needs to hear_ ," a few weeks ago. Kirstie definitely knew more than she was letting on but right now there were more important issues, like making sure Scott understood they weren't all angry  _at him_  right now.

Mitch had alternative ideas however, as he placed both palms firmly on the youngest boy's desk and leaned over with an authoritative look on his face. "At least tell us that then Scotty," he demanded, in a voice he hadn't used against the boy since the first few weeks of the school year.

"Mitch," Jeremy warned, when he saw the distressed expression appearing on Scott's face once more.

"No," Mitch spat, glaring at his teacher, "I wanna know why  _he's_  there," he demanded pointing a finger at the young boy. "Did your mom do something, she steal from someone?" he questioned, hitting his hands against the table. "Or did you get involved with the gangs, huh? he glared accusingly at the boy. "What did  _you_  do?"

"Nothing!" Scott's shout echoed around the room and the youngster's sudden leap onto his chair startled them all. "My mom didn't do nothing bad and neither did I! I promised you I wouldn't, I'm not bad!" he yelled into Mitch's stunned face, the tears eventually falling. "I'm not bad," he cried out, giving Mitch a slight shove away from him, before falling back into his seat.

"I'm not bad," he whimpered, rocking back and forth, cowering from his friend.

Jeremy stood in shock, his head a mess of emotions. One half of him was screaming at him to never let Scott go back to this place again no matter how much the blond would despise him for separating him from his mom; the other half had absolutely no fucking idea what was going on and was leaning towards the idea that maybe where Scott was living really was the best place for him. Kirstie seemed to give that impression anyway.

He was in such a turmoil that his initial reaction of wanting to comfort the young boy was beaten by Kirstie getting angry at both him and Mitch. But mainly Mitch.

After fixing Jeremy with a glare that told him she was in charge right now, Kirstie shook her head in disgust at the younger teen. "I can't believe you."

"Fuck off Kir–"

Before he could finish that insult Kirstie grabbed him by the shoulders and head, and roughly spun him to face the crying youngster. "Look at him," she hissed. "Look at him."

Mitch had no there option to look directly at his distraught young friend, and Jeremy could see the anger dissipate the moment he set eyes on Scott long enough to see just how upset he had made the boy.

_Not just him. I hardly acted like the mature adult just now._

"Guys?" Kevin also spoke up, having been quiet since the interrogation and argument had kicked off. He was very nervous, that much was clear. The boy didn't handle conflict amongst his friends very well. And this sort of conflict was very unusual; Kirstie and Scott vs Mitch? Hadn't it been the exact opposite a few weeks ago?  _Nothing ever stays consistent with these lot._

"Me and Avi are taking him outside," Kirstie stated, implying there was no arguing with her. Avi stood up immediately and came to her side. The girl took his hand in hers automatically and held her other one out for the sniffling youngster.

The boy stood up, instantly running to her side, avoiding eye contact with the rest of them and latched onto her hand like it was a safety line. She smiled down sweetly at him, wiping away a few stray tears with her thumb, before giving him a reassuring, "c'mon little rat," and leading him away, Avi still holding onto her other hand like he was their personal security.

Jeremy suddenly felt very ashamed about how he had handled that situation. He had let his extreme worry take over and had just alienated Scott rather than trying to empathise with the young boy. The kid always wanted to please them all but was probably almost as confused as the rest of them as to what was happening in his life. 

Right now Kirstie was right, the boy just needed to know his friends were still there for him, no matter what he was going through. Herself and Avi seemed to have that covered for now, Jeremy was going to have to sit down with the boy later with a lot of chocolate as a peace offering. "One more thing," Jeremy called out, ignoring the steely glare Kirstie placed him under, "just...do you feel safe there Scott?" He needed to know that at least.

Scott sniffed and leant into Kirstie's leg, reminding Jeremy just how unhealthily small the boy still was.

 _Living in the shelter is hardly going to help that_ , he thought woefully.

Thankfully, the little blond explained that he felt safe enough. That he knew he was living with dangerous people but that they mostly ignored him, and also assured them that there were plenty of others who would look out for him, especially when his mom was still apparently still working just as much.

 _That's as good as I'm going to get I suppose_ , Jeremy thought as he watched the three walk off. He turned back to his two remaining boys, one scared and one a mixture of angry and distressed. Jeremy was probably somewhere in between right now.

He told them if they needed some time as well they were welcome to it and both boys took advantage of that offer, Mitch stormily walking out slamming the door behind him and Kevin asking if his teacher was okay before picking up his baseball and going to play outside.

Once he was alone Jeremy sat back down at his desk and placed his head in his hands, and with no one else around he allowed himself to cry. He cried because he hated not knowing what to do, for not having any experience that could help his youngest. He cried because he cared about all his kids so much and knowing the stress this would put them all under was unbearable to think about.

 _So much for being emphatic with them._  There was nothing Jeremy could think of that he could relate to the situation Scott was in right now. Maybe in his nightmares perhaps, maybe he'd had horrible dreams during his childhood about similar situations. But there was nothing he could pull from his mind that he might use to let Scott know that it was okay, that he could understand a fraction of what the young boy was going through.

He felt totally useless and it was the worst feeling in the world.


	33. Labored Living

_Life is at its best when everything has fallen out of place, and you decide that you're going to fight to get them right, not when everything is going your way and everyone is praising you. - Thisuri Wanniarachchi_

**Wednesday 12th March**

The bathroom light kept flickering, making Mitch feel like he was having a seizure as he tried to pluck the unwanted hairs from his eyebrows. He was pulling them out a bit more aggressively than usual, like he was trying to punish himself for his behaviour the other day.

"Why am I such a fuck up?" he spoke angrily to the boy in the mirror.

The way he had spoken in front of Kirstie and Scott about the youngest's "minor" issue was disgraceful and still haunted him. He had always prided himself on being a non-judgemental, regardless of religion, skin colour, gender, any sex kinks someone might have, he always tried to treat everybody fairly and equally. And then he had basically accused Scott of getting involved with the The Strikers and pissed off Kirstie in the process.

"Idiot," he hissed at his reflection. "You only went and alienated your two best friend's.

After Avi and Kirstie had guided his young friend out, Mitch had gone outside and pitifully failed to calm down, returning only to lock himself into the storage cupboard and basically kicking the place to shit, ignoring Kevin's pleas and Mr L's shouts, finally emerging unharmed but with half the shelves dislodged behind him. Somehow, Kevin's secret sweet place had still not been uncovered in his mayhem.

"I mean what gives me the right to judge them?" He demanded to the skinny kid who was still looking miserably back at him. "I'm not exactly one to talk."

He liked to pretend he had been getting better, that he had been sorting his life out; but the truth was nothing could ever be good until his mom tried to sort her own life too. He knew she was depressed, he knew she'd lost the love of her life unfairly, he'd been with her the whole time, but that didn't mean she should stop living while she waited for his dad to come back. He just wished he knew how to help her the way Lottie was helping him.

He shook his head and sighed. "I'm just some crazy kid talking to himself in the mirror." His reflection still offered no words of advice and he turned away from it in disgust.  _Fat lot of help you are._

 _Enough wallowing in self-pity_ , he decided, walking back to his room and throwing a plain back t-shirt over his head. He had to go and make sure his mom was ready for their annual trip to Aunt Emma's for dinner. Mitch couldn't wait much longer. He really needed a break right now.

Heading down to the kitchen he was immediately met with the sight of his mom, and it was not a pleasant one. She was sitting in their kitchen, a bottle of whiskey in her hand, swaying precariously. A lot of the alcohol was on the countertop or on the floor, but a good deal of it must have ended up inside the woman, considering the state she was in.

He clenched his fists. "Mom," he uttered lowly, "what do you think you're doing?"

The woman grinned, holding up the bottle to show him at least half was gone. "I'm celebrating," she said, her words slurring. "Celebrating the three year anniversary of us surviving since your father left," she clarified while Mitch angrily snatched the whiskey off her and started to clear up the mess.

"Since he was taken," the boy corrected her firmly. "How much of this have you drunk?"

"I'm just starting Mitchy, why don't you join me darling," she grabbed at her son, attempting to pull him into a hug.

He instantly pushed away from her fumbling hands and alcohol intoxicated breath. "Why are you doing this?" he asked, his voice straining.

"Oh fuck off!" The woman had a sudden change in heart and also began pushing him away, clumsily pawing at his chest.

He stumbled back and regarded her with a harsh glare. "Ha, very mature mom." Mitch taunted, as he continued to try and wipe up the sticky mess.

His mother sneered at him, her once pretty face now marred from the lack of sunlight and her poor diet. It killed him to see her like that. This wasn't the loving mother who had raised him. This woman was just a shell. "You going to go and tell that bitch all about this?" she slurred, "how you stupid mother lost it again."

He knew exactly who she was talking about and he wasn't going to allow it.

"Call Lottie and bitch again and I'll..."

"You'll what? Y-you'll leave me too, like your good for nothing father?"

Mitch slammed his fist down on the counter. "Dad did not choose to leave," he argued.

"He might as well have. Y'know I told him to get out while he could, but he refused, he thought he could have done something to help. Now look at us!"

 _Yeah, now look at us._  Mitch was stressed beyond belief and his mother was slowly working herself into hysterics, and when she was like this Mitch knew she would say things she didn't mean. But that sentence, about telling his father to get out while he could struck a chord inside of him. _She must be lying. My dad was...is a smart man. If there was a way out he would've taken it. He wouldn't have risked his family like that. She's lying._

"I don't know what you're talking about," he muttered.

"How could you? You're just a child," his mother spat out, as if it were his fault.

He just dismissed her comment with a wave of his hand. "I can't talk to you when you're like this."

"No! You never talk to me at all! Don't you love me anymore Mitchy?" She cried out. "You hate me, I knew it!"

Mitch rubbed a hand over his tired eyes and tried to just change the subject. "Mom, c'mon we've got to go to Aunt Emma's."

"No."

"Mom," he growled.  _Please just play along for once._

"You go, I'll stay here and have a party, everyone's invited y'know," she told him and began laughing.

_Oh my God, she's finally lost it completely._

"Please mom, just...I want to go," his voice cracked at the end. His mom had been even more difficult to talk to recently and it was pushing right to the edge. Come to think of it, it was most likely the reason he had been so snappy at school, if he wanted to place the blame of someone else that is. It was hard to remain cool and collected when you were constantly filled with doubt and worry. And he did worry. He worried so damn much. About his himself, about his mom...about Scott. 

"Ooo, want, want, want. That's all it is with teenagers, want, want, need, need," his mom chanted like an annoying five year old, giving him an ugly sneer. And that was it; Mitch finally lost his temper.

"Oh how I wish it had been you who had gone to jail instead of dad! He would never have let himself get in such a state!"

His mini rant was ended when he felt something breeze past his cheek and heard it smash against the wall behind him. Turning astounded, his eyes found the source of the crash, although to start with he had no idea how the bottle of whiskey had got from the counter to the floor behind him.

"Mitch, Mitchy I'm sorry baby," his mom started crying and shaking his arm, and Mitch slowly turned back to her with tears in his own eyes.  _She threw it at me..._

"I'm sorry...I would never hurt you," she wailed.

_But you did. You tried to._

"Mitch!" He heard his mom bellowing as he darted out the house, as quick as he could. He didn't know where he was going, he just couldn't be in the same room as that woman any moment longer; he needed to get out before he himself did or said something he would regret.

Okay, maybe telling her that he wished she had gone to jail instead was a bit harsh. That wasn't true. The truth was that of course he didn't want either of his parents in prison, he just wanted them all to be together again and then everything would be alright. In his best dreams they were all living happily, the perfect little family. Dreams he had come to realise, were extremely annoying; they granted too much false hope.

But what his mom had said about his dad having a choice earlier on? That was now niggling at the back of his mind. He couldn't bring himself to believe it, and yet he couldn't be certain it wasn't the truth. Now that was another thing to add to his list of uncertainties.

After a while of blind marching the young teen spotted a bench on the other side of the road and crossed to sit on it. He hadn't been paying attention to where he was walking, but had somehow ended up not too far from the police station. He wondered if Kevin's old man was working in their right now.  _I wonder if he's found out anything about Avi, or if he's even bothered._

Suddenly all Mitch wanted to do was see and speak to his friends. They had all agreed they could call each other if they were feeling down - although Scott rarely had access to a phone - and Mitch had taken them up on this offer a few times when he'd been particularly annoyed by someone at work or after one of his more "soul-searching" sessions with Lottie. He had never called anyone when he'd been this upset though.

In fact, he hadn't been this upset in a long while but his mom had the greatest control over his emotions. Sometimes he wished he could stop loving her. Everything would be so much easier if he could just stop caring. But that wasn't who he was, and it wasn't who he wanted to be no matter how much he was hurting right now.

The boy pulled out his phone and scrolled through the contacts, his finger hovering over Kirstie's name. Normally she would have been first choice but after how they had left things on Monday and barely talked the past two days he didn't feel comfortable enough to make that phone call.

He looked at the name above Kirstie's. At the start of the year never in a million years would he have ever thought he would be calling this person in his time of distress. Now though, his fingers seemed to be working on auto-pilot as they pushed the call button.

"Yo Mitch!" the hyper voice echoed down the line.

"Hey Kevin."

"What's the matter?" The boy asked straight away, reminding Mitch that the kid was a lot more perceptive than people gave him credit for.

"Ah, just had a little argument with my mom," he tried to make it sound as if it were no big deal.

"Oh, what about?"

"I caught her with a half empty bottle of whiskey." There was no way in taming that part down for the youngster and Mitch felt slightly guilty for dropping it on Kevin so suddenly. At least he'd left out the part of her throwing it at him.

Luckily for him, after everything the youngster had witnessed the past few months, he was more than rehearsed at receiving bad news. "Wow that's really rough dude, you okay?" Mitch could feel the concern radiating through the ear piece.

"Not really." He couldn't help himself. He just needed someone to know he was feeling pretty shit.

Mitch could practically hear the younger boy's brain working up his answer. "Do you wanna meet up, you can come to mine if you want?"

 _Heh, he's a sweet kid_. "No, no I won't impose my sorry self on you."

"Hey, you're never a bother y'know. 'Sides my grandparents love you, always asking 'bout you since you came over dinner y'know."

Just that memory brought a glimmer of a smile to Mitch's face. "Your grandpa really does make a fantastic pizza."

"So you coming?" Kevin asked hopefully.

"I can't, it's my day off so me and my mom are meant to be off to my Aunt's, but if that doesn't happen I'm not going to leave my mom in the state she's in."

"...that sucks." The sound of disappoint in the younger boy's voice actually lifted Mitch's spirits. Not in a mean sort of way, but it was nice to know he was wanted by some people.

"Yeah," he agreed. Life just sucked sometimes and more often for some than others.

Kevin was quiet for a bit and Mitch could hear some shuffling, like papers being moved, and heavy breathing on the other side of the phone, before the common sound of bed springs as the boy presumably sat on his mattress.

"I interrupt you with something Kevin?"

"Just a little side project I got going on," the boy responded, not giving Mitch any other clues and before the older boy could question him any further, asked: "There's something else isn't there Mitch?" It wasn't even a query. The boy just knew.

"My mom..." Mitch began, unsure where he was going with this, "she said something about my dad. Something I don't really believe but...but I have to know if it's true or not." He let his head fall back and stared up through the branches of the tree behind him. What he told Kevin next had only just occurred to him. "I gotta speak with him face to face, see the reaction in his eyes."

"What's the issue then?" Mitch rolled his eyes at the boy's obliviousness.

"Uh, number one: he's in prison Kevin,"

"So?" the boy argued. "If I knew where my parents were I would go and visit them! I mean, you're always saying you miss your dad, why don't you just go and visit him?"

It did make him feel a little selfish. Kevin would probably do anything to get in contact with his parents again, but actually getting to his dad, on his own no less, was no mean feat, as he explained to Kevin. "It's like an hours drive away, there's no bus there and I can't afford to spend money on a cab. Also the only visiting times clash with school."

"And?"

"And my Aunt Emma would never take me, she kind of hates him, blames him for my mom's...state, even though she never admits it to my face. And Lottie would need to get clearance, it would take ages, and there's no way I'm asking Mr L. He's got enough going on."

"And?" The boy still didn't seem to see what the problem was. Well if that wasn't enough there were plenty of personal reasons Mitch could think of that would put him off going.

"I'm scared for him to see me like this Kevin," he admitted in a small voice. "I don't want him to see what a mess his son has become while he's been away."

That had taken a lot for the teen to reveal but thankfully Kevin provided a perfect counter-argument.

"Mitch are you seriously kidding me!" he exclaimed. "You are one of the most amazing guys I know. I mean, you've been working to support both you and your mom since you were only two years older than me,"  _that is very weird to think about actually_ , "you're smart and funny," Kevin continued. "And you really care about people." The boy had to take a breath as he ran out of air to talk. "And you're always yourself. If you were my son I'd be very proud," he finished in a way that actually pulled a laugh out of Mitch's lips.

"I think you're a bit young to be my dad," he pointed out.

"Yeah...but that's not the point. The point is that, in the words of Scotty, you're awesome! Everyone knows it except you."

 _Everyone definitely doesn't think that about me_. Number one being the woman who threw a glass bottle at him.

"I think my mom might argue with you about that."

"Let her try," Kevin retorted cheekily. "I'm an excellent debater."

"More like you won't shut up until someone agrees with you."

"Where there's a will, there's a way dude." There was another pause as an idea suddenly popped into Kevin's mind. "What about that guy you told me about?" he asked excitedly.

"Who?"

"That guy you work with who taught you how to drive! You could borrow his car!"

 _Oh, I forgot I boasted about that one day._  It was true, Zach from work had taught him how to drive; or at least taught him enough so he could drive the company car a few blocks to collect some emergency stock a few times. He hadn't been on the freeway though! Plus there was the small fact that it was illegal.

"I'm fourteen Kevin."  _Heck, my foot can barely reach the gas in Zach's car._

"Oh yeah..." He didn't need to see the other boy to know he was grinning mischievously. "When has that ever stopped you?"

Mitch couldn't quite believe what he was hearing. Good, sweet, innocent Kevin was suggesting he break the law?

"Kevin Olusola, are you implying what I think you are?"

"Nothing of the sort man, just trying to be helpful." He heard the boy laugh out loud. "That's what buddies do right? Help each other out."  _This is it. We've corrupted him_ , Mitch thought.

Actually he was beginning to get the feeling that maybe Kevin was only eighty five percent joking and fifteen percent being serious.

"Absolutely," he agreed. "Listen, I should be getting back to my mom Kevin, thanks for putting up with my ranting for a bit."

"No problem! Glad you called," Kevin said joyfully. "Hey if you need me again you know where to find me."

"Yeah, yeah," Mitch smiled. "Bye kiddo," he said his farewell's. Kevin ended the call without returning the favour, most likely hurrying back to whatever he had been preoccupied with before. Rude you might say but Mitch knew that wasn't the case. The kid just jumped from one matter to another too quickly sometimes, that he forget about the stuff - such as saying goodbye - in between.

But from Kevin's mind there had been a seed of a plan handed to Mitch. It was such a ridiculous and dumb plan that Mitch wanted to just sweep it from his thoughts and never think of it again. The Mitch at the start of the year would have done this; would have never even considered it and just accepted his fate of carrying on with life at it was, to deal with the misery as it came.

He wan't that Mitch anymore. He had a new drive instilled in him. He had a goal, he could see a way of achieving it and he wanted desperately to accomplish it. The actual technicalities of the plan shouldn't be too hard. He was pretty sure Zach was still irresponsible and easily persuaded enough for him to allow Mitch to borrow his car some more after work, and then for a whole day if he did actually go through with this crazy, hair-brained plan.

There were so many more arguments against this plan he was thinking up on the spot than there were for. Potentially getting arrested being the main thing putting him off, or crashing on the freeway.  _Dying. That's a good reason not to go._  But the idea of seeing his dad, of getting answers he so desperately needed, it was too strong to resist.

 _Yeah_ , Mitch decided, standing up fully invigorated and hastily making his way back home, a spring in his step this time. First get his mom out of the house and over to Aunt Emma's. Secondly... _It's time I brushed up on my driving skills._


	34. Getting To Know You

_What happens when people open their hearts? They get better. - Haruki Murakami, Norwegian Wood_

**Friday 14th March**

Kirstie couldn't quite believe her plan had worked out. She had taken one of the biggest risks of her life by getting that message to Scott's mom, even then she didn't know how the woman was going to react. The worst result would have been she might have just blown it off as idle threats or some sort of sick prank, but luckily for them both, Scott's mom was obviously a smart woman.

She had taken the boy to one of the safest places he could be, despite what the rest of their classmates and teacher thought of his situation, the shelter was the best place he could be living if he wanted to still be with his mom. Kirstie had wondered if the woman might have given him up to the social services instead of moving them both to the shelter, but she obviously and understandably couldn't bring herself to let him go, despite foster care maybe being the over all safest option for the nine year old, as it would have separated him from that life entirely, it would have surprised her greatly if the woman had just given him up like that.

Also it had become clear the young boy himself had no idea what all the fuss was about and Kirstie didn't know if that was a good or bad thing. On one hand it meant he still retained whatever slight bit of childlike innocence he had left and meant he wouldn't have to deal with what his mom must have been going through for years. On the other hand, not knowing the whole picture could be dangerous. The kid was street smart. If he knew what was going on, the information could prove useful to him.

Right now it was lunch break and she was sitting on top of what her class had named "the rejects shed" like they had named their classroom the "rejects room". It wasn't like they were self-depreciating themselves, they just took pride in the name. The school had chucked them out of their mainstream system, so they were owning what little they had left and putting their own badass stamp on it.

"Hey." Kirstie glanced up surprised as a grey beanie popped up at the edge of the roof, and the owner of the voice heaved himself up.

She smiled. "How's it goin'?" she asked, throwing her cigarette into the nearby drain. She knew Avi, although he never openly complained, hated smoking.

"Well you just missed Kevin and Scott having a twerk off."

"Oh God."

"Was exactly Mr L's reaction when he walked in the room," the boy chuckled.

"What are you doing out here?" she asked him. "No offence, but aren't you worried about Toby and his gang."

"Oh no," he shook his head with a confidence she loved to see on his face. "To be honest they've left me alone for a while." Avi gave a suspicious sidelong glance. "What did you say to him exactly?"

"Ahh, I might have gone into graphic detail about the way my family deals with people we don't like."

"You did that for me," he stated, and Kirstie would have laughed at the awe in his voice if he hadn't been so serious.

"Hey, if you've got it, flaunt it I'll say. And don't be getting too big-headed mister, you weren't the only one they antagonised," she teased.

He smirked and ran a hand over his face, giving his sorry excuse for facial hair a scratch.

"This thing's getting kinda itchy," he said randomly.

"I don't know why you bother, your baby face can hardly grow enough to make it look real."

"Yeah but I look even more baby-faced without the beard."

"That's not a beard," she corrected him.

"Stubble then."

Kirstie rolled her eyes at his adamance and reached up to give his cheek a poke. The boy blushed slightly and ducked his head as was to be expected, what she was not expecting was her finger to come away dusted in a faint powder. She gave Avi a harder look.

"Are you wearing make-up?" she asked incredulously.

The boy looked like a deer in headlights. "Oh...no, I uh..." he hurriedly mumbled, and made moves to jump down.

"Get back here," Kirstie ordered. She was in no mood to be playing games. Enough of him messing her around, Avi wanted to be friends, well then it was high time he let Kirstie satisfy her curiosity.

"It's not what you think," Avi insisted as Kirstie lifted up her hand again to smear away some more of the foundation, revealing a nasty looking bruise on his chin. It had been a poor attempt at a cover-up, obvious when you looked close enough.

 _Someone needs to teach you how to do this properly_ , Kirstie jokingly thought.

"Yeah?" she replied to Avi's earlier statement. "What exactly  _am_   _I_  supposed to think..." she questioned, fixing the teen with her "no bullshit" glare. "You can't tell me this was Toby now, not after what you just said."

Avi shook his head. "Kirstie," he groaned, clearly trying to worm his way out of the inevitable awkward and revealing conversation. Kirstie was having none of it.

"No! Enough lies Avi," she demanded. "Either shut up or tell the truth."

 _Shit. That probably wasn't the best thing I could've said._  No doubt shutting up for Avi would be the easiest and most natural reaction for him in this situation. He'd only had God knows how many years practice at the mute act.

"I'm sorry," Kirstie quickly apologised. "It's none of my business I know."

For a moment she was worried the boy was just going to leave her hanging but fortunately he recovered from the shock of being found out to smile at her in understanding. "No, it's fine, I'd be the same," he assured her.

Avi reached up to feel the bruise himself and chuckled quietly at the powder on his own hand. Kirstie eyed him strangely.  _Well I'm glad he can see the funny side of things._  Then he was quiet and Kirstie knew he was trying to decide whether or not to open up to her.

 _C'mon, just tell me. C'mon Avi give me something here._  Things between them had been surprisingly good, even after there awkward moment at the zoo. Kirstie didn't know what she had been thinking, it was just like she had no control over herself for a second and poor Avi was hardly going to push her away. Good thing that dumb bear was there before he allowed her to take advantage of him.

But anyway, at least since then the boy had been even more comfortable in speaking to her and very occasionally joking around with her, something that she usually reserved for Mitch. She still didn't know enough about him though to satisfy her curiosity, he was still a mystery man and any snippets of personal information he divulged to her was like gold dust, especially when it came to his home life.

Today it seems her prayers would be answered. "My...father gets, I dunno," Avi began uncertainly, twirling his thumbs. "He's a believer in the old-fashioned way of parenting," he said quietly.

"Mother fucker," the excitement at Avi telling her the truth was overtaken by the anger at realising who had done this to him. Truth be told, it didn't come as a big a shock as it should have; in the back of her mind she thinks,  _this is what I feared was happening. It was what made the most sense._ Still, the idea that this boy was being mistreated at home filled her with a rage like no other.

Probably seeing steam come out her ears Avi urgently added, "But he rarely does this," pointing to the yellow skin.

Kirstie narrowed her eyes. She highly doubted that. "What about the day you came in with half your face a mess?" she questioned.

"Yeah," the boy admitted cautiously, "but that was just as much my fault as it was his."

She raised an eyebrow. "Bullshit."

"No, really," Avi adamantly declared. "He'd had a really tough day at work and I just went out of my way to rile him up."

"I can't ever imagine you doing that." This was the boy who had got upset when Scott set fire to a trail of ants with her lighter.

However he just gave her an incurable sidelong look. "Well you don't know much about me," he replied in the coolest tone Kirstie had ever heard him use.

The girl sniffed. "Be like that then," she retorted, looking away.

He heard him let out a heavy sigh. "Look," she felt the hand on her elbow. "I don't judge your family, surely your dad must be a little heavy handed now and then? Comes with the nature of his job doesn't it?"

"Yeah," she hesitated, trying to think back on a time she had actually feared he might hit her but coming up blank. "With a few of his sons he's a little rough, but never bad enough to turn them half blind!"

"Yeah, well that was honestly the worst it's been for..."

"For what?" Kirstie asked when Avi's sentence trailed off.

"Oh," he sounded surprised like he'd lost his train of thought. "Forever."

He slid across the roof until their bodies were pressed together, perfectly comfortable in human contact amongst his friends. "Listen," he informed her. "I didn't break my routine to come and talk to you about my father."

Despite how much she didn't want it to be, the despondent look on his face Kirstie could tell that particular branch of conversation was over and decided that despite her even stronger fascination with the boy now, it was best to leave it be. She still had a million questions burning in her mind but was worried Avi might just shut her out completely if she probed any deeper.

She sighed.  _When are we going to stop tip-toeing around each other Avi? It's always like I'm performing some kind of dance when I'm with you. Can't we just be real with each other, like the time at the zoo before I..._ No. She wasn't going to think about the now. That moment had been replaying in her mind ever since, distracting her when she needed to be in top form on a job. It was fucking annoying.

Kirstie realised Avi was still waiting for her to acknowledge him. "What was it you wanted to talk about then?"

The boy fiddled with the hem of his jacket. "Well, I just was curious y'know, if maybe y'know, I mean I know you don't get loads of free time outside of school but, y'know, I just thought–"

She held up her hands to stop him. "Avi I feel like I'm talking to Kevin."

"Right. Sorry," he let out a shaky laugh and took a deep breath, closing his eyes, composing himself. When he next opened them, they were a lot more confident. "I wondered if maybe you and I could," he paused and took one last deep breath "hang out sometimes," he concluded.

"You mean outside of school," Kirstie clarified. Avi nodded. "As in a date?" she asked, the side of her mouth lifting into a smirk.

Avi nodded once more. "Yes," he said firmly, with the most confidence she had ever heard in him, almost able to convince her that this wasn't his first asking someone out. Shame she was going to have to deny him but hey, this was good practice for when he met a girl deserving of his attention.

"Well I admire your setting," she jested, gesturing to where they were sat. "I always dreamed about being asked out on a shed roof."

The boy smiled but he was still gazing fixedly at her, anxiously awaiting Kirstie's answer.

"I dunno Avi," she spoke regrettably, "like you said so yourself, I don't know the first thing about you." It was a lie really. She probably knew more about him than anyone else at school, and he'd seen a side of her she certainly hadn't shown anyone before.

But that was the problem. She liked Avi too much. So much that she knew she had to protect him from her world. They could remain friend's, she really hoped they would but nothing could ever progress further than that. They couldn't allow themselves to get too invested in each other's lives. They were two completely different creatures, they couldn't survive together in the same world.

Avi's face fell immediately at her reply and Kirstie expected he would leave her soon. She wouldn't blame him. That had probably taken every bit of courage he had in him and she had shut him down straight away. But instead he managed to surprise her once again by turning back to her with a cheeky grin on his face. "Alright, how about this then?" he started, with that same cocky look he had worn when he had come to her aid about the dilemma with Scott. "I invite everyone, including you, to dinner at my place over Easter break."

Kirstie looked at the other teen in wonder. How was it that this was the same silent boy who jumped overtime someone touched him? "Your dad won't mind?" she asked. If she came face to face with this piece of shit she couldn't be promising anyone 911 wouldn't need to be called when she was done with him.

The boy shook his head, still grinning confidently. "Nope. He's got to make a trip to China so he'll be away at some point."

Getting to see where Avi actually lived? That was something she had been fantasying about since she saw that photo on his phone at the start of the year.  _Well if everyone's going it would be rude to turn him down._

"Okay then," she grinned back, his confidence affecting her mood too. "You should ask Mr L as well," she suggested. It was always fun when their whole family was together and it would mean she could spend more time getting to know the boy without having to worry about the younger three getting up to mischief.

"Alright." Avi was smiling so wide, you would think he had just won the lottery. "So it's a date...kind of," he proclaimed.

Kirstie rolled her eyes and gave him a smirk. She didn't want to lead him on any more but she just couldn't help herself. "If you say so," she agreed.


	35. Joining The Dots

The most dangerous untruths are truths moderately distorted. - Georg Christoph Lichtenberg

 

**Tuesday 18th March**

 

Even though it was mid March the rain still kept on coming, although thankfully it was more light showers as apposed to the torrential downpours they were getting which made Jeremy worried his street might become flooded. However the rain didn’t seem to affect his students need to go and get Starbucks or take a cigarette break or perform comedy acts/dance routines for other students during every break. Even Avi had very recently started venturing outside, claiming the bullies were no longer an issue.

 

However this lunch break, as all his students rushed to head outside, one remained behind. Over the past few months Jeremy had learnt this usually meant one thing: there was something bothering them that particular child.

 

“You alright Kevin?” he asked once Scott had finally given up on persuading the boy to come out. “What’s up?”

 

The dark skinned boy carried on doodling some sort of giant dog on the paper in front of him. “Oh nothing Mr L, I’m just feeling reflective today,” he mused. “I think the dull weather is affecting my mood.”

 

Jeremy couldn’t help but smile at how poetic the normally hyper boy was sounding, but didn’t tease him. It was rare Kevin was this serious and it always gave Jeremy a glimpse of the person who Kevin could be.

 

“Really?” the young man quizzed, pulling up a chair. “I thought it would take more than a bit of rain to dampen your spirits.”

 

“Well it has,” Kevin replied shortly, pressing so hard on his pencil that the tip snapped off. The boy held it up and sighed loudly, as if everything was going wrong for him that day.

 

 _Come to think of it he has been quieter the past few days._ In fact all the kids had been fairly quiet during class today, except Avi who was gradually getting more vocal.

 

“Reflecting on anything in particular?” Jeremy asked Kevin.

 

Kevin sighed once more and rested his head on the desk, still playing with his broken pencil. “I was just thinking y’know, what do you think they’re doing?”

 

“Who?”

 

“Y’know…the two of them…”

 

“I’m afraid I can’t read between the lines that well kiddo.”

 

The young boy sighed once again. “My mom and dad,” he admitted quietly.

 

“Oh…I don’t know Kevin.” Shit, that was a tough one. Over the time he had spent getting to know the youngster they’d had a few chats about this topic. Kevin was very interested in hearing how Jeremy had coped after his father had walked out on him 

 

“Do you think they miss me?”

 

 _What’s the best way to answer this?_ Jeremy wasn’t a mind reader. He would never know the reasons Kevin’s parents abandoned him. He couldn’t provide the answer the boy was looking for. _But is honesty really what he needs to hear right now?_

 

“…I’m sure they must,” he began, because that was what Jeremy truly believed. He couldn’t imagine that any parent who gave up their child didn’t at least have one moment in their life where they wondered what life would be like if they hadn’t left them. He could be showing his naivety but Jeremy honestly believed that, wherever the bastard was, his dad must miss him at times.

 

“Why don’t they never call or write or nothing then?” Kevin’s question broke though his daydreaming.

 

“Maybe they’re very busy,” Jeremy tried. That had always been the excuse he had made for his own father. His dad was too busy to pick up the phone. Too busy to pick up the pen and write Jeremy a letter explaining properly why he had left.

 

“Yeah, I guess,” Kevin said morosely. “That’s why they had to leave me in the first place, cos I was too much of a handful.” That was hardly a valid excuse although Kevin seemed to think so.

 

Jeremy tried to think up a better explanation that “they just couldn’t be bothered”, telling Kevin, “They probably just thought it would be the best for you if you stayed with your grandparents. So you wouldn’t be travelling around with them.”

 

“I wouldn’t mind the travelling!” the boy argued. “I like going to see new places and all that, cos you’re seeing stuff you’ve never seen before and you never get bored!” _Well that would be one way to deal with your concentration problems, one very expensive way._

 

“But then what about friends?” he reminded Kevin. “If you were travelling all the time you wouldn’t have time to make all the friendships like you have here.” Despite being the one who was probably told to shut up or stop it the most amongst his students, the young boy was actually the only one who maintained a constant high level of being liked by the rest, while the others relationships went up and down like yo-yos.

 

“Mmm, I suppose you’re right Mr L,” the boy remarked, as he considered the bonds he had formed with the other kids. “They didn’t have to cut me off completely though,” he said, sounding completely dejected. Jeremy couldn’t be having that.

 

He figured at that point that instilling the boy with a few distorted truths might be just what he needed. Distorted as in Jeremy had no idea what the real reason his parents had for not contacting him, but could say what he often thought about his own dad. “Y’know what I think it is?” he said, lowering his head to look at the boy.

 

The boy sniffed and gazed up at him. “What?”

 

“That you’re mom and dad are just really scared that you might reject them if they get in contact,” Jeremy told him. “I bet no matter what their reasons were, they still feel real guilty for leaving you.”

 

The young boy rubbed at his eyes some more before looking hopefully at him. “Really?” he asked, as if he couldn’t quite believe what he was hearing.

 

Jeremy nodded. “The thing most adults find the scariest is thinking their child might hate them,” the more he spoke, the more he felt as if what he was saying was the truth. “Adults get scared too y’know,” he pointed out. “Sometimes it has to be up to the kid to make the first move.”

 

He watched as Kevin’s eyes slowly lit up, reinvigorated with the words he was hearing. “You’re saying I should contact them?” he asked in surprise. “I’ve asked my grandparents in the past and they’ve always just said the time isn’t right.”

 

“They’re your parents Kevin. It’s not up to them to decide,” Jeremy assured him. “Maybe they’re just waiting, hoping one day their son will look for them.”

 

The young boy grinned. “Y’know that’s what I’d always dreamt about, but I never thought it could be true…but now you’re saying it too!” His earlier sullen mood had disappeared, he was filled with a new purpose.

 

“If you want my advice, take the plunge I’ll say Kevin,” the teacher encouraged. “You never know you might be talking to your parents or meeting them in no time.”

 

That was what Jeremy had always dreamed of too, somehow meeting up with his own dad and getting an apology out of him. No one knew where his father had fucked off to though, but Kevin still had a chance; he could still reconnect with his parents, do what Jeremy never could.

 

“Thanks Mr L,” Jeremy was put off when the young boy suddenly gave him a hug, wrapping his strong arms around Jeremy’s shoulders before standing up excitedly. “You’re the best!” he called out to the young man as he charged towards the door, back to his normal need to let off steam during break.

 

“Mind the–!” Jeremy winced as their was a loud crash when wood hit wall. “Door…” He shook his head, smiling fondly to himself. _That was a job well done,_ he congratulated himself. Hopefully the young boy would be able to persuade his grandparents to put him in touch soon.

 

Now that he was child free, the young teacher had to return an important document to the filing office. Rifling through his cluttered desk, Jeremy eventually found the file he was looking for, four pieces of paper held in place my a brown folder. They were Avi’s school history records, one for each of the previous school’s the boy had attended. This was an item that was not meant to be in his possession, but like he had told to Kirstie and Mitch, he was prepared to slide around the school’s rules on this one.

 

He had gained clearance to the school’s file room, a massive waste of storage as anything older than a year was rarely looked at again, but legally needed if the school didn’t spend money on having it computerised. It hadn’t been too hard, a bit of sweet talking the lady at the desk outside and she had graciously allowed the young man in without asking questions.

 

Jeremy had just told her he wanted to see what his students attendance records were compared to the previous year. Said he was sure they had improved greatly - which was true - and that he wanted to use it for his portfolio. After being let in he headed straight for the transfer student files, rather than the attendance records. It had taken him a good hour of searching, the whole lunch break, before he eventually found Avi’s file. No one had bothered to alphabetise these records and students were transferring to this school all the time with the numbers of families immigrating into the city every term.

 

Walking out of the file room, the lady hadn’t even bothered to check the file he had was the correct one, and had sent him off with a smile and a cookie. Sweet old thing really. He had already stuck a new label on top of the old one, changing it so it read as Avi’s attendance records instead of his transfer history. He doubted anyone would ever go searching for these files, but if they did they would just assume someone had messed up in admin.

 

Even after the file had been in his hands, he had then had to wait until after school before he could finally look through the papers. He didn’t know what he’d been expecting, maybe full written pages explaining exactly why Avi was the way he was and why had been transferred so much. Instead the file contained literally nothing; it was in fact just a few words above being a number of blank pages.

 

If he was in a cop show he was sure they would be pinning up the schools along with a photo of Avi and his father onto a big board and drawing lines that connected all the dots together into some impressive masterpiece. The files were all shockingly similar. Bentree Heights Elementary: Grade A student, child no longer fitted in school’s curriculum, removed by father. Piper Elementary: Grade A student, removed by father, unknown reasons. Mission West Academy: Grade A student, removed by father, unknown reasons. Davis Middle School: Grade A student, issues with other students, removed by father.

 

And now he was here, Ridgeway High. Well so far the boy was still an A grade student who got along with the whole class and Jeremy had yet to be in contact with the father. Was it one day going to be the same story as it was for each of the boy’s previous schools; that he was going to disappear one day with no explanation given as for the sudden move.

 

 _Removed by father._ He knew those simple words weren’t meant to sound ominous, but they were to him.

 

 _Removed by father._ What reason could the man have for moving him around the city when their home address stayed the same, and when only of those two previous schools cited vague reasons for the transfer. Avi didn’t fit the curriculum and there was an “issue” with another student. Since moving here Avi had been involved in plenty of “issues” with other students, mainly ones which sent him to the nurses office, but apparently they didn’t warrant moving to another school.

 

There most be something connecting all of them. He had the addresses, and the years the boy attended. Now all Jeremy needed to do was find out what that connection was.


	36. Family Lost And Found

_It is never acceptable for us to be the cause of any child to feel unloved or worthless. - Joel Burns_

**Wednesday 19th March**

"Bye Scott!" Kevin waved his younger friend off as the blond ended his regular time at Kevin's house after school. He always had to leave a bit earlier now as apparently it became a lot more complicated to get back into his "safe house" when it turned dark.

Still, their time together was always fun. In school sometimes, when they were surrounded by three teenagers going through puberty, it sometimes felt like they weren't allowed to act their age. It was through no one's fault, but making fart jokes or talking about kids TV shows felt weird sometimes amongst their company. When it was just the two of them however, they would act as immature and boisterous as a nine year old and an eleven year old naturally would. At least until his grandma would tell them off for nearly tipping the couch over during a wrestling match.

Although Kevin watched him go, Scott didn't bother to turn around as he walked down the sidewalk, instead just sticking his thumb up in the air. "See ya Kevo!" he called out nonchalantly. Kevin knew he wasn't being rude, his friend was just getting more,  _I dunno, streetwise?_  He could see Kirstie doing the same sort of thing. It was probably something he'd picked up from one the the guys he was now sharing a home with.

Kevin was always amazed how much the younger boy was able to take in his stride. If it had been him in Scott's place, Kevin was pretty sure he would have had some form of breakdown by now, but the closest Scott had got to that had been when he acted up the other day by repeating everything that everyone said. Now that was annoying. Fortunately being threatened with extra history homework had soon shut him up.

Shutting his front door, Kevin made his way back to the living room to tidy up the mess the two had made. There were felt tip pens and magnetic darts scattered all over the floor and Kevin had to get on his hands and knees to reach underneath the furniture to gather them all up. While he was under the couch he saw his grandma's feet appear, and then her hand as it reached down to pick up the drawings the two boys had done.

"Let me guess, this one is Scott's?" the woman deciphered as Kevin stood up, showing him a drawing that involved about forty types of pokemon doing what could only be described as smoking weed and drinking alcohol at a massive 'Pokemon Party'. A typical night off for all Pokemon he was sure.

Kevin grinned at the picture. "Yep," he answered, innocently staring up at his grandma.

She shook her head in wonderment. "I don't know where he gets these ideas from."

"He's just really imaginative and creative. Maybe he'll be an artist when he grows up," Kevin pondered. "Than again maybe not," he grinned, taking in the image once again.

His grandma chuckled softly and went to put the new pieces of art in the kitchen. Everything Kevin had ever created had ended up in pride of place in their kitchen at some point, and now the same applied to Scotty. Before his abrupt movement he had basically lived here anyway, and always got excited when he saw his drawings stuck on the fridge.

His grandparents always fussed over him whenever he was around, especially about his eating habits, but more recently Scott had grown wary of his cop grandpa and gone out of his way to act like everything was fine. He could hardly have him finding out he was living with people in trouble with the law.

The boy was about to follow his grandma in the hope he could coax her into letting him have a piece of the cake she had baked the other day, when a voice boomed through the house. "Kevin can you come here for a sec?" it requested.

"Coming!" he shouted in reply, charging to the study room. "What's up grandpa?" he asked before his head was even around the door.

His grandpa was sat as his desk, surrounded by papers and folders that Kevin had been instructed he was never to look through. Still, seeing as he'd been requested to the room, he couldn't help but take a peek behind his old man. Nothing of interest really caught his eyes. It just looked like a lot of math equations.

Even so, his grandpa followed his gaze and moved to block Kevin's view of whatever he had been looking at. Removing his glasses and wiping them on his shirt he asked his grandson: "Your classmate, Avi Kaplan. How much do you talk to him?"

Kevin's ears perked up at that.  _Has he finally started to realise there's something happening with Avi?_

Trying to remain as calm as possible, he responded casually, "Umm, quite a lot I guess, he's my friend after all. Why?"

His grandpa finished cleaning his frames and placed them back on, giving the boy a hard look with his almost black eyes. "Kevin, I am only disclosing this information to you because you are a trustworthy and intelligent young man," he confided. "Under no circumstances are you allowed to repeat what I have said outside of this house. Do you understand?"

Kevin nodded his head vigourously. "Yes grandpa."

The old man turned back around, satisfied with his grandson's response, and began sifting through the mountains of papers. "We have just opened a case of Abbott Kaplan," he began, "who is your friend's father, he's a businessman...of sorts."

 _Yes, finally. Something is being done!_  It was hard for Kevin to stop himself from breaking out into a huge smile as his grandpa continued to speak.

"Now I'm not asking you to investigate yourself, don't you even dare think about it," he warned. "But it could be extremely helpful to our case if you keep an eye and ear open around this Avi character for any information that might be useful."

"Like a spy?"

"No. Like a grandson doing his grandpa a favour," his grandpa replied in a voice that would sound strict to anyone else, but to Kevin it was filled with the old man's humour.

"I'll be alert at all times," Kevin promised, standing up straight.

"I know you will be. But remember Kevin, not a word about this to anyone, especially Avi himself. I don't care how much you like this boy, for all we know he could be in on it with his father. Perhaps that's why he kept himself to himself for so long."

 _What? No! That wasn't right. Avi's not the bad guy here grandpa!_  This wasn't what Kevin had been expecting, but he couldn't give the game away, couldn't let him know he was too personally invested, otherwise his grandpa might not be as forthcoming with information on the case. Instead he calmly continued with his own line of questions.

"What are they meant to be in on?" he queried, trying to only sound partly interested.

"We can't say for sure until we've delved a little deeper. And even if I did know I wouldn't tell you." His grandpa smirked. "Just put it this way, if things pan out a certain way, this could be the highest profile case I've ever been involved in."

Kevin raised his hand to his forehead. "I shall complete this task with flying colours commander!"

His grandpa nodded, smiling. "Dismissed soldier."

The boy went to leave but at the last moment a feeling inside tugged him back around, perhaps one reignited by his recent talk with Mr L.

"Seeing as I'm helping you out, can you help me out?" he requested sweetly.

"And here was I thinking you were helping me out of the kindness of your own heart. What is it then?"

Kevin bit his lip in nervousness. "I know you're probably going to say it's not the right time yet, but I really want to contact mom and dad."

He saw his grandpa's cheek muscles tighten. "Kevin we've spoken about this–"

"I know," Kevin butted in, quickly uttering a "sorry" at his grandpa's unimpressed expression. "But isn't it my own decision to make? I meant...they're my parents and it's been seven years since they gave me to you and seven is my lucky number y'know."

"It's not that easy kiddo," his grandpa sighed and Kevin thought he had a good idea what the man was worried about thanks to Mr L.

"It's okay, I'm not mad! They don't have to worry about me getting angry at them or nothing! I won't make them feel guilty and then when they know I'm cool with them maybe they'll ring and write or something. Maybe they'll even come back and visit one day you never know."

"Kevin," his grandpa tried to halt his chittering but the boy's mouth had gained a life of it's own.

"And then we could all go out together like one big family y'know," he continued earnestly. "And I can ask them about their jobs and they'd have loads of stuff to tell me cos they're very busy all the time and I can tell them all about school and my really cool friends."

"Kevin," the man once again tried to end his pleas, "it's not going to happen. Why don't you go and see if your grandma needs any help in the kitchen?"

"No!" Kevin stomped his foot down in a petulant manner. "They're  _my_  parents, I should be allowed to call them. You're not being fair stopping me!" This was what Mr L had said, that it was up to him not them to decide what he should be allowed to know.

He watched his grandfather purse his lips tightly. "We are just trying to protect you Kevin," he insisted, voice straining.

"Protect me? Why would I need protecting?" He was suddenly filled with dread. "Did something bad happen to them grandpa?" Was that why he was never allowed to talk to them? Had they been badly hurt or something?

"What? No!" His grandfather banished those thoughts quickly, resting his head in his hands. "No, they're fine. They're perfectly fine," he murmured. "At least they were the last time I heard from them."

That was another thing Kevin never understood. He knew his grandparents were in contact with his mom and dad every couple of months on the phone; yet it was always when he himself was fast asleep in bed, and they never spoke a word about the conversations. Just that they weren't planning on visiting any time soon.

"Then what's the problem?" Kevin cried out, this conversation was even able to make him feel frustrated. "C'mon grandpa, you're always telling me to tell the truth," he pointed out.

The man kept his head in his hands, listening to his grandson lecture him like a mini prosecutor in court, and Kevin saw him nod his head ever so slightly after taking a number of deep breaths that had Kevin wonder if he was having trouble breathing.

"I can't hide it forever. He deserves to know," the man spoke so quietly it was almost inaudible and Kevin didn't quite catch it.

"Excuse me Grandpa?"

The man looked back up to him, his eyes filled with guilt. "You're right," he confirmed.

 _Eventually!_  Finally Kevin was going to be getting the answers he had longed for ever since his parents had left him as a four year old. He waited impatiently while his grandfather tapped his foot anxiously on the floor and rubbed his hands against his cheeks, trying to psych himself up to reveal all to him.

"The truth is Kevin..." he began, voice quivering in a completely unnatural way for the normally stoic man.

_Yeah?_

"The truth is..."

_C'mon grandpa! Spit it out!_

The man took one more deep and shaky breath before delivering perhaps the worst news possible. "The truth is that they don't want to speak to you."

Kevin didn't fully understand what he was being told to start with, and continued on with the theory Mr L had fed him.

"But I said that I wouldn't be mad at them or nothing," he fretted, only to be cut off by his grandpa placing a gentle hand on his shoulder.

"Yes but Kevin," he said softly, voice still a harsh whisper, "that would be all well and good if they actually felt guilty for leaving you in our care. The truth is they don't regret it." He told him firmly, eyes glistening over. "I'm sorry, I know this is hard to hear. It's why we wanted to wait until you were older." He finished by looking down into his lap and Kevin was unsure if he was crying.

The boy himself didn't know what to feel, or even understand what he had just been told. _It doesn't make any sense_ , he thought to himself. He must've heard his grandpa wrong. Everything Mr L had said, about it parents missing him, that had to be the truth, right? His teacher wouldn't have said it if it weren't. Mr L was one of the good guys, he didn't lie.

"No," Kevin uttered lowly, glaring at the man in front of him, refusing to believe this story. His grandpa was probably just trying to feed him another lie to get him to stop pestering him.

His grandpa still didn't look up to meet his gaze and spoke shakily once more. "When you first started asking if you could speak to them we tried to get them to call you, we really did," he continued, and by now the shake in his voice and overall general demeanour was beginning to give Kevin the chilling feeling he was actually telling the truth.

"But," the man said, finally meeting his grandson's eyes again, "they were stubborn as ever, said that that part of their life, the part that involved you was in the past." He spat out the last sentence like he was disgusted to even speak it.

The boy squeezed his eyes tight shut, hoping that he was going to wake up from whatever nightmare this was. Kevin hadn't realised it until now, but his body was quivering; out of nervousness or rage he wasn't quite sure. "Oh, so I'm in the past?" he asked angrily. "Anything else you've been hiding from me?"

That question was meant to be a snide remark at his grandparents treacherous secrecy; it should have been rhetorical. Of course there was nothing else to know. His parents didn't want to see him, end of story.

Unfortunately that wasn't so. His grandfather was about to deliver the final killer blow. "The main reason they refuse to see you now is because they've..." He let out another surprise cry of distress before telling him: "They've started a new family. You've got two little sisters Kevin."

Kevin felt his blood freeze. His veins turning to ice as those words stabbed at him like tiny, hateful daggers.

"Sisters?" he managed to choke out.

The man nodded and pulled out his phone from his pocket with a trembling hand. Kevin didn't even bother to wipe away the warm tears spilling from his eyes as he stared at the photo his grandfather was showing him.

His mom, she was smiling brightly, a pretty woman, she still had those big gold hoop earrings that were one of Kevin's few memories of her. And his dad, looking cool and collected in a leather jacket and blue sunglasses, with his arm draped over his wife's shoulders. These were the people he'd dreamed of seeing for years. But they weren't alone.

"This is Alisha she's four." His grandpa pointed to a girl dressed in a billowing white dress, her smile a mirror if his...their mom's. "And this little one is Kala." The other little girl was toddler age, dressed in an oversized football jersey, the only one not focused on the camera, excitedly pointing to something out of view instead.

They were sitting on a wall in front of some unknown beach, it looked too perfect to be anywhere near Kevin's city. They looked happy.

Tearing his gaze away from the screen, he looked at his grandfather with large eyes. "You've been keeping this from me for four years," the young boy concluded sorrowfully.

_How could they? How could they lie to me all this time?_

"We didn't know how to break it to you in the first place," the man tried to explain. "And then time went by and it just got harder and harder to tell you."

"So they never want to see me again." Kevin surprised himself by how calm he managed to sound right then. Out of the two of them, you would have thought it had been Kevin delivering the devastating news, not the other way around. He nodded. "They've just gone and replaced me with better children," he observed.

It made sense. His parents always had big ambitions and plans. He clearly hadn't fitted into those plans, but these two adorable girls did. His sisters. He couldn't hate them no matter how much he tried to.  _It's not their fault. They probably don't even know I exist._  If anyone it was to blame here it was himself, for not being good enough for his mom and dad to keep around.

"Kevin," his grandpa began, and the boy was suddenly reminded that there were other people to blame here. He clenched his fists as the man spoke up again. "It's not–"

"Yes it is!" he yelled out, startling the man into silence. "You basically just said so!"

The man shook his head. "We never meant for it to come out this way," he tried to reason.  _Too late_ , Kevin thought. _You've said your piece._

"I don't think you were ever going to tell me were you?" he accused him. "Admit it, if I'd never asked, would you ever had told me willingly?"

His grandfather went to open his mouth, but when no words came he just lowered his head in shame.

Kevin let out a fake laugh. "I can't believe you lot," he seethed, before tearing out the the room, not caring how much noise he made.

"Kevin!" he heard the man shout after him, but he was already one his way up the stairs, charging towards his room. Practically breaking down his door and diving onto his bed he could hear more angry shouts traveling up through the floors.

"What did you say to him?" His grandma was yelling at her husband. There were more yells that Kevin couldn't care to keep tabs on, and after a while they quietened and all that was left were the sounds of his own whimpers.

After a few minutes he heard footsteps outside his door. "Kevin sweetheart?" He hid his face into his pillow at his grandma's knock. "I'm coming in," the woman informed him. The boy kept his head buried into the fabric as she quietly walked in and made her way to his bed.

He wanted to shout at her too, but that was something he would never be physically capable of. Instead he just continued to hide his face and cry about how unwanted he felt.

His bed dipped as his grandma sat down next to him. "I'm so sorry baby," she whispered, stroking his turned back. "I'm so sorry."

Kevin couldn't bring himself to face her but he he didn't turn the woman away either. In spite of her lying to him as well, he still needed someone to be with him when he was at his most vulnerable. Funny, Mitch sometimes accused him of being melodramatic, like when he would fall to the floor in pretend pain if Kirstie so much as lightly slapped his arm; but in this moment he decided crying was the least amount of drama he should be causing.

It was perfectly justified. His one bit of hope that he had about his parents, one that had been encouraged by his very own teacher was all that had been keeping him from going off the rails recently, as he grew more mature and began to think - and worry - more about the future and who he might become when he was older.

But now that little glimmer of hope had been completely dashed, leaving in it's wake a icy cold tingle in Kevin's skin and a fiery rage in his heart that the young boy had never felt before.


	37. The Listener Talks

_We have two ears and one mouth and we should use them proportionally. - Susan Cain_

**Thursday 20th March**

Avi flitted his glance to the window once more, checking out his reflection to make sure his face was still intact. Kirstie had pulled him aside this morning the moment he walked in and informed him that his attempt at putting on make up that day was not good enough. She had then dragged him to the storage cupboard for some privacy and got out her own set of complicated looking tools to try and make him look pretty.

It was kind of her, and she did a much better job than he ever could, but Avi worried that he was going to need a plastic surgeon at this rate. His father's disciplining of his son had increased greatly recently after having dipped down for a while. There were definitely some unknown forces at work here that were driving the man to the bottle more and more frequently. Avi felt as though it was every other day now that the man would drunkenly find him and shove him into the nearest piece of furniture.

It sucked, but he could handle it. No longer was he a scared little boy who could be chucked around easily. He was almost legally an adult and he could take being slapped around a bit. What he couldn't take was having to try and apply concealer every morning.

Satisfied that his face looked bruise-free he turned his attention to what the others were doing. Scott and Kirstie were sitting close together at the back of the room - like he was - but on the opposite side. They were quietly snickering at some unknown joke, but being well behaved enough that Mr L had yet to call them out for messing around.

The older girl had apparently replaced Mitch for a bit as favourite teenager, only because whenever the blond went to go and talk to the other boy, Mitch would get awkward and be unable to carry on a conversation. It was weird, that used to be Avi's job.

He saw the girl lean over to check the work the youngster had been doing, wrinkling her nose when she got closer to him. "You smell of smoke," Kirstie pointed out.

"You smell of smoke," he childishly retorted back.

"That's because I smoke."

Scott narrowed his eyes. "Maybe I smoke," he challenged, before explaining, "I think the guy who used to sleep where I do chain smoked like a felon."

"He probably was a felon," the older girl remarked casually.

Scott gave her a long, unreadable look. "Yeah," he suddenly agreed, face breaking out into his cheeky grin.

Avi came over to his two giggling friends, bringing his English work with him.

"You managed to actually score yourself a bed yet?" he asked the blond as he sat down beside them.

"No," Scott replied, sounding annoyed; whether it was because he was yet to find a decent place to sleep or because he was questioned all the time by the others about how things were at "home", Avi wasn't so sure. "But it's not so bad," the boy explained, "us kids have kinda claimed this one corner and made a sorta den. It's a bit like a sleepover accept there's a load of criminal guys around." He glanced up at the two teens and gave them a bright smile. "S'good people mainly, don't worry about me."

Avi shared a look with Kirstie and saw they were thinking exactly the same thing.  _Not worrying is not possible._  Scott seemed to think it was though, and got back to his own work with the happy thought that he had fooled the other two. Avi just watched him and smiled for a bit, proud at how dedicated he was to getting his work done on time compared to the start of the year.  _Proves just how far a kid can come when a teacher pays proper attention to them._

His attention on the boy was diverted when he heard Kirstie clear her throat softly, and looked up only to see her nod her head in the direction of the boy at the front of the class. Kevin had been silent most of the morning, and Avi had thought that was just because he too was also just trying to get on with his work, but now he saw what Kirstie was seeing. The youngster was sitting rigid in his seat, head facing forward. Avi couldn't see the boy's expression from here but if the way his hands were clenched into tight fists, he would guess it wasn't a happy one.

Kirstie raised her eyebrows.  _What's up with him?_ He could tell she was asking.

He shrugged. I don't know.

Kirstie glanced back to the younger boy and then nodded her head to Avi.  _You go and talk to him._

Avi frowned. _Why me?_

She pulled a face and jerked her head towards the younger boy again.  _Because you're the nicest._ Or at least it something along those lines. Either way, Avi stood up, grabbed his chair, and made his way over his young friend.

"You're being quiet Kevin," he observed, placing his chair down backwards so he could lean on the backrest like he was Slater in Saved By The Bell.

The boy nodded once, still staring directly ahead. "I am," he agreed rather bluntly, completely out of character. Looking down, Avi could see the boy hadn't even touched his work yet.

"Okay..." Avi wasn't sure how he was supposed to reply. It turned out he didn't need to as Kevin gave in to keeping whatever had made him so mad a secret.

He whipped his head round to Avi with a fierce glint in his eyes. "Do you want to know why?" he asked.

"Uh...yeah?" 

"Him." Kevin replied, glaring at the young teacher. "I'm angry at him."

Mr L raised his head from his work. "Uh..." It was clear he was just as confused as Avi was about what was going on.

"You were wrong," Kevin growled at him.

"I was wrong," Mr L repeated slowly, trying to make sense of what exactly he had done wrong.

"Yeah," the boy sneered. "If you hadn't said all that dumb stuff about my parents then I wouldn't have asked."

Avi still had absolutely no idea what Kevin was on about still but those words had clearly struck a chord with their teacher.

"I don't–"

"And you lied! That's even worse!" Kevin was really working himself up into hysterics now.

Avi watched the teacher, waiting for him to tell the boy to calm down, but it was like someone had pressed paused on the guy and his face was frozen into one of shame. Suddenly Kevin was standing and Avi along with everyone else watched in trepidation as the boy continued to rage at their stunned teacher.

"You told me that they felt guilty about me!" He cried. "But they don't! They never wanted me y'know! They just wanted to get rid of me so they could have a new family." That last line gave Avi a glimpse of what had got the boy so riled up and Kevin informed them of the rest. "Guess what guys, I've got two little sisters I never knew about until yesterday, and I'm so much of a fuck up that even my parents don't want me!"

He was screaming by the end of it, a complete transformation of the happy and excitable boy they were used to. _And he was every right to be._ If Avi had just heard everything correctly then Kevin had been told something truly horrible and screaming was the least he would expect.

Avi saw Mr L swallow down a lump in his throat. "Kevin, let's just talk about–"

"No! You don't know nothing so don't pretend that you do! You just ruined everything!" There was no reasoning with the boy and he kicked his foot out in anger, tipping his desk over and sending his work flying across the floor with a deafening crash. The whole class was shocked into silence, the only audible sounds coming from Kevin who was breathing very heavily.

Mr L was no help at that point either, Kevin's words having completely shut him down. Giving one last hateful look towards his teacher, the young boy stormed to the door. "I'm outta here," he proclaimed, leaving without a word more said.

He left them all to wallow their silence, until finally spoke up. "Did Kevin just cuss?" he asked incredulously.

"Not the issue right now Mitch," Avi muttered, walking up to the teacher's desk. "You okay?" he checked in on Mr L, who was still frozen to the spot, giving the appearance of someone completely lost, which probably wasn't too far from the truth. 

"I ah...yeah..." The young man stared up at the teen. "Just check he's alright Avi," he begged, emotionally unable to do anything himself right now.

Avi nodded once. "On it," he assured him, quickly hot-footing it after the runaway boy.

Running down the nearest stairs and heading outside, he turned his head to inspect every corner the boy could be hiding. Avi wasn't worried about Kevin running out of the school grounds; he knew the boy well enough to suspect the kid would never go far, he just wasn't that independent yet. However his heart rate had quickened when he'd seen the boy exit the gates as he turned on of the corners, and quickened his pace into a jog to try and catch up with him.

Fortunately his first guess about the boy not going far had been correct, and he found Kevin sitting with his knees up to his chest, leaning against a wall, on the floor just outside the school gates

"This your version of skipping school?" Avi teased gently as he moved to sit next down to the youngster.

Kevin raised his head in surprise to find Avi right next to him, obviously a lot calmer than he was a minute ago. "Oh..." Avi could see he was debating if he should run off again or not, with the not side winning in the end. Kevin sighed, "I wanted to but..." He shook his head and let out a forced laugh at his predicament. "Is Mr L really mad?" he asked and Avi could see he was genuinely concerned about how he had left their teacher.

"No...I think he's more upset than mad," Avi admitted, although he had barely said a word to the man before chasing after Kevin, with the look on his face you might have thought someone had killed his puppy. "I think he's worried you don't like him anymore."

Kevin laughed again, slightly more genuine this time. "Of course I like him, I was just mad y'know?" He rubbed at his head. "He made me believe my parents actually missed me when in fact they don't care about me at all." Gazing at Avi sheepishly, he said "I made a fool of myself, didn't I?"

"No of course not!" Avi interjected. "You have every right to be angry Kevin. If it were me in your position I would have kicked over more than just one desk."

Actually more recently it had been pieces of furniture beating him up but he didn't need Kevin to know that. He just needed to let the boy know that no one was going to think any less of him for the way he had reacted.

"I just don't understand..." Kevin said in a small voice. "What Mr L said to me or why my grandparents lied."

Avi thought about what to say. He was never good at giving the long comfort talks, or at least he didn't think he was. He'd never tried to before. He didn't want to make Kevin any more upset but then he knew he just couldn't leave the young boy with only these distressing thoughts consuming his mind.

Sliding over so he was closer to the younger boy and putting an arm around to his shoulders, he began with what should have been said to the youngster from the very start. The truth. Not the distorted one Mr L had embedded in his mind or the previous blatant lies from his grandparents. Avi told it to him straight, exactly as he honestly saw it.

"I'm not saying what Mr L said to you was right," he mused. "He shouldn't have spoken about stuff he didn't know a thing about. But hey Kevin, at least you know now. I know it's a horrible truth but it's the truth."

The young boy nodded his head against his shoulder. "I don't think they were going to tell me otherwise," he noted. "I think they were just hoping I'd stop asking."

"It was wrong of them to keep it from you," Avi assured him he was justified in his anger. "But I do understand their reasoning Kevin," he added. "You forget I've met your grandparents and I can safely say they love you very much, and it's unconditional. Their biggest crime here is loving you so much that they lied to you, thinking they were protecting you." He spoke in hushed tones and gave the boy a bright smile. "Besides I don't think your parents could ever make food as delicious as the dinners at your house."

Kevin laughed again. A real Kevin laugh this time. "We do like our food," he agreed, before turning to look up at Avi with a much more hopeful expression on his face. "You really think they love me that much?"

"I do."

"How can you know?"

"Cos they look at you the opposite way my father looks at me."

"Avi..." the boy started, but Avi waved his pity off with a reassuring smile and the boy reluctantly let that comment go unspoken about, continuing, "I just worry sometimes that I'll get too much for even them to handle. I mean, if my parents have managed to raise two happy looking kids since they got rid of me I musta been really annoying then. People have always told me I'm annoying."

_Yeah. I definitely know I thought it a lot when you would talk to me non stop when I had no choice but to listen. But that's no reason to abandon a child. There's no justifiable reason to explain what they did._

"Listen Kevin," he spoke firmly. "Your parents are fucking assholes. You'd have to be to give up a kid like you. Stop thinking up excuses for them." He gave the boy's hair a ruffle. "I honestly believe you've got a better life with your grandparents than you ever would have with them."

Avi was beginning to feel a bit light headed with the amount he was talking. Never had he said so many words one after the other. But he wasn't done yet, there was another matter he had to address.

"And about the annoying thing, you're right. You are annoying." Kevin's face was a picture at that, but Avi grinned at him and reassured, "but no more than the next person. We all have our moments Kevin." He gave the boy a poke on the shoulder. "You can annoy people when you forget to engage this," he tapped Kevin's forehead, "and forget how to disengage this," he gave the boy's chin a gentle nudge with his hand.

"Scott is annoying when he thinks he's such a smart-ass and talks back to everyone," he continued, getting a small giggle out of the boy. "Mitch is annoying when he keeps telling me to stop dressing like a farm boy and Kirstie is annoying when..." Avi actually struggled for a moment on that one before finding her perfect flaw. "Well, she can just be so stubborn sometimes," he concluded.

Kevin reflected on what had been said. "What about you?" he asked Avi.

"Oh I'm the most annoying person out there," Avi assured him.

"I literally can't think of a single annoying thing you do."

Avi smirked. "That's annoying isn't it?"

"Aviiii," Kevin groaned, giving him a friendly shoulder bump. Avi was no mind reader but he was certain his words had had some positive effect on the boy. That fierce glint that had been inhabiting his eyes had been extinguished for now. There was something else niggling at the kid though, as was about to be made clear. "It's not just the whole parent thing that's been bothering me," Kevin told him.

"What else?" Avi queried.

"It's...ah jeez, look at me," Kevin put his head in his hands. "I'm having a go at my grandparents keeping secrets from me, and here I go breaking a promise I made to my old man."

"Well you don't have to tell me," Avi pointed out. He wasn't going to force this kid into saying anything he didn't want to.

"No. This is important. You need to know."

Kevin was adamant on the fact and then proceeded to tell Avi about his conversation with his grandpa the previous night, the one before everything had got heated. When he was done Avi was just left with his mouth hanging open in shock.

"Huh," he murmured, "so that's happening."

"I'm sorry Avi! We only wanted to help back when you were silent and all that y'know," Kevin pleaded for him to understand. "I guess I never really thought it would actually get that far y'know."

Avi gave him a sidelong look. "So you're meant to keep an ear out for anything that might put my own father in the shit?"

The younger boy squirmed uncomfortably under his gaze. "Basically."

Avi twisted his head to stare blankly at Kevin, checking to make sure what he was saying was really true. He knew Kevin wouldn't make this up but still,  _this is too good to be true_ , he thought. Finally there were people, good people like he knew Kevin's grandpa was, investigating his father.  _It all makes so much sense now._  That was why his father had been particularly flying off the handle recently. He was scared. His fucking father was scared. Avi struggled to stop his face from breaking out into a huge grin, the worry Kevin was experiencing telling him this was almost amusing.

Avi knew he shouldn't get involved and just allow the cops to do their jobs, but he just couldn't help himself. Still staring straight ahead, he gave the boy a pat on the shoulder. "Well it's a good thing you didn't hear me talking about the Emerson deal," he told him, before standing up. "Don't stay out too long. I think Mr L might have a breakdown if he thinks you hate him for much longer."

And with that, he left Kevin for a bit more peace, heading back into the school just as the lunch bell was sounding.

"I'll never hate that fool," Kevin called out after him and Avi smiled to himself. The boy almost sounded like he was back to his old self. Of course he knew that it was going to take a lot more than a few choice words from himself to help the boy deal with his abandonment issues, but Kevin had a good family and good friends.  _Yeah, he's gonna be alright._

Waiting by the door was a very concerned looking individual. Mr L's face was still extremely downcast and he had his arms folded tightly across his chest and was tapping the floor nervously with his foot. The moment he noticed Avi, he urgently looked around, obviously hoping to see Kevin with him.

"He's fine," Avi notified the panicked man and explained that Kevin was just sitting outside the gate for a bit and would most likely return for his lunch. "We had a good little chat. Don't worry you're still his favourite teacher," he gave Mr L a comforting smile. Like Avi had told Kevin, he knew the young teacher would never do anything he thought might deliberately upset his students.

Giving him a grateful smile, Mr L latched onto Avi's arm as he went to pass. "I...I let my own personal feelings get in the way of what was the right thing to say to him," he stuttered out. "I shouldn't have given him false hope," he told Avi, admitting his mistake. Why he was saying this to him Avi didn't really know, but it felt nice that Mr L could trust him with those personal feelings.

"You've got one of the best and most problematic qualities a teacher could have Mr L," Avi informed him. "You care too much." He gave the teacher's arm that was holding onto his own a squeeze with his free hand. "Don't stop anytime soon," he insisted.

With that said, he left the teacher to his own thoughts and headed back upstairs to go and collect his things. He also happened to meet Mitch coming down the stairs as Avi was going up.

"Hey Avi," the younger teen greeted him.

"Alright Mitch."

"Is Kevin okay?" He asked, clearly very anxious about the young boy's outburst.

"Yeah, he'll be alright. Maybe just ease off the sass on him for a few days. He can barely keep up with your wit on a good day."

Mitch smiled. "I can try," he said, acknowledging the fact that he did tend to pick on Kevin, although usually the boy could handle it. Leaping out of the way to let a wave of students pass by, Mitch shook his head in disbelief. "Poor kid. His parents must have been royal assholes."

"And then some," Avi concurred.

"Listen Avi, before you go, I have a...a request of sorts."

That peaked his interest. Usually Mitch still remained fairly reserved around him and Avi suspected that the boy had some kind of grudge against him coming from a rich family while the boy had to work most days after school. Avi didn't let it get to him, it wasn't like he could help what family he was born into. But now here the teen was, with a request for him, and naturally Avi was too polite not to agree.

"What is it?" he questioned.

"Don't worry it's nothing bad," Mitch responded, giving a brief glance around to make sure none of their classmates were nearby. "It's just I'm not gonna be in school next Monday," he explained once he was sure they were alone. "I need you to make sure Scotty doesn't go looking for me."

That didn't seem like too hard of a task. "Why aren't you coming in?" That was the interesting part.

Mitch however was not forthcoming on the details. "That's private," he answered tightly.

"Fair enough." Avi shrugged. "Why can't you just tell Scott yourself?"

"Because he would insist on coming with me. Or try to stop me and this is something I need to do. Besides we're not exactly on the best ever terms after what I accused him of."

"You do know that's all you," Avi pointed out. "That boy forgives and forgets better than anyone I've ever known. It's like it's physically impossible for him to hold a grudge." He shook his head in wonder. "You just need to talk him. Explain to him why you said what I said."

"I don't even know why I said what I said," Mitch revealed, his face turning bleak as he reminisced that day.

"Well tell him that then. Just have some sort of chat about it," Avi reasoned. "Although I think I could diagnose your outburst as acute concern for his well-being and your worry all came out in completely the wrong way."

Like Mr L, he knew Mitch would never do or say anything deliberately that he thought would harm or upset another person, especially when that person was Scotty.

Mitch raised his eyebrows. "That the medical opinion?"

"Hey, you never know," Avi said. "If I can ace my exams I might be headed straight for Harvard to get that doctorate I've always dreamed of."

"Really?"

Avi pulled a face. "Absolutely not." That sort of college scene was definitely not for him.

Mitch snorted. "Idiot," he told Avi as we made his way past him.

Avi continued on up the stairs, not quite believing what he had achieved today. If he wasn't mistaken he had managed to talk to three people and offer them advice that they had taken on board, or at least he thought they had. He had never seen himself as someone people might listen to until today. Up until now he had always been the one doing the listening. It felt amazing.

_Right...well now what?_

He decided his plan for the rest of the day was to go back to the class, collect his stuff, find out where Scott and Kirstie had disappeared to - if they weren't still waiting - and hope that Kevin would return after lunch in a more positive mood. Then he would go home and try not to give the game away to his father that Avi knew just how much trouble the man was in, and maybe give Kevin a call just to make sure he was doing okay at home.

It was funny, only when the other side of Kevin's personality had shown itself today was Avi really able to appreciate just how much he, and the class as a whole, relied on the boy to be the constant energy source and entertainment center.

It just went to prove everyone's personalities, even someone who could seem as open as Kevin, were multi-dimensional. Today Kevin had shown that he could be vulnerable and insecure. Showed that the rejection he felt from his parents was a lot stronger than any of them had believed.

He wasn't just a loud-mouthed, hyperactive child; he was an extremely intelligent and thoughtful young boy, who Avi knew had a wonderful future ahead of him. Just like each and every one of his classmates did. Even Kirstie. No matter how much she tried to tell them all that her path in life was decided the moment she was born. She was creative and she loved the theatre - although she would deny it the moment Avi brought it up - and if that one home economics lesson was anything to go by, she was a natural talent when it came to baking.

All his friends all had something going for them. They were all multi-talented individuals with a variety of passions and skills. Avi on the other hand had nothing. He had never been allowed to pursue anything other than what his father had planned for him; hadn't even chosen his own clothes until recently. Sometimes it felt as if he had been moulded his whole life for one purpose, crafted to be used purely as a business lap dog.

He thought about that now as he neared the classroom door.  _What am I going to do with my life?_  No longer did everything seem quite so black and white. There were other options out there for him. _I'm gonna have to start seriously thinking about it._ It was a scary thought. But in a way, it was also kind of exciting.


	38. Career Ending Choices

_You can pay people to teach, but you can't pay them to care. - Marva Collins_

**Monday 24th March**

The weather was finally beginning to warm up once more and that meant that a certain little classroom in Ridgeway High would slowly turn back into a sauna - the air con was still yet to be replaced - and Jeremy would begin to resemble some kind of slippery eel in his shirt and tie, kept at a distance by the other staff. It was one of the factors that made him envy his students. They could just slip on some shorts and a t-shirt when the weather would get even hotter, while he would slowly be left to bake.

Today was the first day since Kevin's angry revelation to them all that the boy had come in looking more like his old self, the free thinking time at the weekend had obviously done him good. What was even more promising was that he had returned to calling Jeremy Mr L, after two days of it being demoted to Mr Lewis. It was weird. At the start of the year Jeremy had tried so hard to get them to drop that informal form of address, and yet when Kevin had stopped using it, it made him feel like the young boy hated him and wished more than anything for those four letters to be dropped.

When Kevin had entered - or ran in - today with a brighter smile on his face and the familiar "Morning Mr L!" Jeremy's heart had soared. In fact he was surprised he had been forgiven so easily by the boy. Sure it was Kevin, like Scott he couldn't hold a grudge for long, but this wasn't just some small issue that was going to be easily resolved. This was the boy's parents. The parents who had made it very clear they wanted nothing to do with their first born - hello new children - and were the people Jeremy had gone out of his way to defend.

It had been stupid. The proper response would have been to talk to Kevin's grandparents himself and explain how Kevin was feeling rather than encouraging the boy that it was up to him to reach out to his mom and dad. All that had caused was pain for both Kevin and his poor grandparents, who Jeremy knew were lovely, kind-hearted people; ones who Kevin often spoke fondly of.

It was, he realised, the kid version of Jeremy who had given advice to Kevin, the one who still desperately wanted to know what happened to his own father. Maybe he wasn't as grown up as he believed he was.

Jeremy also knew he owed a lot of how smoothly that day had panned out in the end to Avi. The teen had basically taken over the role of teacher after Jeremy was finding basic function harder when all he could think about was what he should and shouldn't have said to Kevin. Avi had made sure all the others got on with their work, helping them out if they got stuck and keeping Kirstie and Scott's joking around to a minimum. He was a natural.

After the day was over and the others had left the class, he came and had a long chat with Jeremy, kind of reiterating what he had said earlier, reminding him that there were much worst mistakes he could have made. Talking to the boy then, in greater detail than he ever had, was truly eye-opening. They had more in common than they thought.

With the teen, Jeremy found someone who shared his interests in indie music, anime and Lord of the Rings. The teacher imagined Avi was someone he would have been good friends with if they were actually the same age. The age difference between seventeen and twenty three wasn't a great one, but the gap between student and teacher was.

Still, Jeremy felt he was in Avi's debt for the teen's adeptness in handling things so well that even Friday - usually the craziest day - had gone by with the kids still behaving almost perfectly.

But of course, nothing ever ran smoothly for long, and today his main dilemma was that two of his closest students, or once closest anyway, had still not turned up by lunch, and his mind instantly suspected the two had gone rogue together.

"Alright, where is our Mitch and Scott today?" he asked Kirstie, as she fixed her hair in the window.

Scott's arrival time had gradually been getting even worse; the boy claimed it was because he now had to walk further although Jeremy was pretty sure the boy usually jumped the ticket barriers to use the subway. But Mitch and Scott together? No matter what sort of feud they were having, that certainly sent alarm bells ringing.

Kirstie on the other hand seemed unconcerned, more put out even that Jeremy had dared interrupt whatever she was busy writing about for an essay. "Don't look at me," she replied. "I'm not their mother."

Jeremy sighed, "Avi?"

The teen shook his head. "Haven't a clue," was all he had to say, barely lifting his head from his work.

 _Well aren't you all a bundle of laughs today._  Although Jeremy was actually quite pleased they were more interested in working than talking.

He turned to his last hope. "Kevin?" He didn't expect the boy to know anything about the missing two. While all the kids loved the hyper boy, he was usually the last to be in on the know about something, especially if it was meant to kept a secret.

However this time, the boy jerked his head up, eyes immediately wide. "Uhh..."  _Hmm okay, scratch that, the kid does know something._  Kevin's whole demeanour was suddenly shifty and Jeremy knew he was hiding something.

"Kevin," he gave the boy a hard look, one that had Kevin squirming. Jeremy was very pleased. That teachers glare had certainly improved since the earlier months when all it would earn him was mocking laughs. Now he could actually use it to get answers out of his students. Or maybe they just liked him better now that they actually wanted to tell him.

Whatever it was, Jeremy was going to give the glare some credit. Those hours practicing it in front of his bathroom mirror in the morning had to reap some rewards.

"I might have heard something, y'know," Kevin began to tell him, "just in passing and such that might y'know, give me some idea as to where a certain Mitch may or may not be, y'know."

 _I always know the kids have been up to no good when Kevin starts using "y'know" every ten words._  It was like a nervous tick with the boy or something.

"Kevin," he said very seriously, "I'm going to count to three and if you don't tell me what  _you know_ , I will double your geography essay from five hundred to a thousand words."

That put a horrified look on the eleven year old's face. Obviously Kevin was a bright boy and maybe even an undiagnosed genius, but there was nothing he hated more than the subject of geography. Jeremy didn't know why. Maybe not finding why rocks eroded very interesting had something to do with it.

Seeing as that threat hadn't made Kevin immediately come clean, the young man began his slow countdown, adding a kind of low, guttural growl to every word he uttered. "One...two...thr-"

"He's seeing his dad," Kevin blurted out just before Jeremy was worried he'd have to hold onto that three for a comical amount of time

"There now that wasn't so hard was- he's doing what?" Jeremy abruptly changed tone as his brain absorbed what Kevin had just said.

"I think he's visiting his dad who's in prison y'know," the boy informed him hesitantly, playing with the hem of his shirt. "We kinda spoke about it on the phone the other week and he became pretty, y'know, excited by my...by his idea and I think that he was gonna go through with it."

 _Huh, Mitch deserves an award or something for being able to hide that from everyone. I didn't notice anything different with him._ Apparently no one had. Jeremy wondered what an earth could have prompted this almost spontaneous visit. And why the secrecy in the first place? Surely it was perfectly natural for the boy to want to visit his father?

"And I suppose he told you to keep this a secret?" he asked Kevin, who still looked a bit flustered. The threat of more geography homework must have really freaked him out.

The boy thought about that for a moment and then shrugged. "No, not really. It just kinda slipped my mind with all the other stuff going on y'know."  _Right. But Mitch probably didn't want you to blurt it out in front of everyone. Well I'm thankful you have such a guilty conscience when it comes to hiding things from people._ Come to think of it, hiding things was probably a pretty sore topic for the boy.Then again Kevin always hid those sweets pretty well. Their location was becoming something of a great unexplained mystery of the world.

"Okay so he got the bus I assume," the teacher voiced his thoughts out loud. Maybe he could call up the bus company and just ask them if they could check up on him or something. And then call up the prison -  _that sounds weird_  - and check the kid had arrived safely.

"Um actually he's driving," Kevin corrected him quietly.

"Oh okay he's– HE'S DRIVING?" Jeremy heard Kirstie snicker at his latest extremely loud outburst and tried to calm himself down so he would stop looking and sounding like some crazy cartoon character. He was going to have other members of staff checking in on them if he wasn't careful. That was not what he needed right now.

"Yeah there's no buses that go that far out," Kevin continued to explain. "He said someone from work taught him to drive over summer."

Well at least that answered the "why the secrecy?" question.  _What kind of imbecile is teaching a fourteen year old to drive?_  Forget staying calm, Jeremy was understandably very panicked, his fast heart rate only increasing the amount of sweat he was producing.  _What could have caused Mitch to pull such a dumb stunt?_

"If he gets caught then he's gonna be in so much trouble," he groaned, rubbing a hand over his face. There were so many scenarios going through his head right now. The boy getting pulled over by the police, crashing into someone, getting lost and ending up in another state, or the worst one; getting involved in a fatal accident.

"Oh my God," he exclaimed as another thought popped into his head. "You don't think Scott went with him do you?"

At the moment Avi was the only other one who seemed to understand the gravity of this situation, as he massaged his chin in a thoughtful manner, resembling an old-school Sherlock Holmes. "Well those two are quite the pair..." he echoed Jeremy's thoughts. "But," he continued "I think Mitch was worried the little guy might follow him if he knew where he going. I don't think he would've informed him willingly. In fact he told me to make sure today that Scotty wouldn't go out looking for him."

"So you knew he wouldn't be in today?" Jeremy looked accusingly at the boy, sticking his bottom lip out like a petulant child. Not the kind of behaviour that was at all helpful from a teacher in this situation but he had thought Avi was the one he could rely on to be sensible while the rest were driving around illegally.

"Hey, he said nothing about what he was doing," the teen defended himself. "There could've been sale on for all I knew."

"Hmm," Kirstie was now fully interested in the conversation, essay put to one side. "Underage driving and abducting a child." She smirked. "That's going to look great on his record. Also about that whole hiding it from Scott thing, the boy might be dumb, but he's not stupid. He's a high rise kid no matter where he lives, and high rise kids notice everything."

While her change in attitude towards the youngest was comforting, what she was saying certainly wasn't. "You don't think...?"

"No I don't think Scotty even knew about it!" Kevin insisted. "He's probably just extra late," he reasoned, but whether that was what Kevin truly believed or if he was worried about protecting Scott from the trouble Mitch was going to be in, Jeremy didn't know.

The young man sighed. "I wouldn't be so sure..." If there was one thing he had learnt it was that he could never assume anything with these kids.

Leaning forward onto his desk, Jeremy resisted the urge to start slamming his head repeatedly on the wood, only forcing himself away from that course of action because one: he needed to remain calm, two: he didn't trust the durability of this desk enough to know his head wouldn't go straight through, and three: it would fucking hurt.

Instead the teacher settled for emitting a low zombie like sound into the desk that probably earned him strange looks from all his students if he could actually see them.  _Brain, please engage. Now._

What was standard procedure if something like this happened? The young teacher couldn't remember if any of his college lecturers spoke about what to do if your mature for his age fourteen year old, who had major relationship issues with his mom, drove a car illegally to visit his dad in prison, who was most likely only in there on false evidence and to top it off maybe he had a possible nine year old little rascal by his side.

No, he didn't think any aspect of his teaching course covered this scenario. Right now there were two clear options in his mind. One: be the responsible teacher and inform the school and the police what was going on. That would earn him the hate from all his students but at least it would be in the hands of the professionals. Jeremy knew that was the option all good teachers - who didn't care what their students thought of them - would take.

Two: he could just let this all pass and carry on with the lessons, with the assumption that everything was fine. If Kevin was correct then Mitch would hopefully see his dad, come in the next day, Jeremy would give him a humongous lecture, the boy would say sorry and that he'd never to it again, and everyone would go home happy. That was the option that an irresponsible teacher who cared greatly about what his class thought of him would take.

But that was certainly the more riskier option. What if something did happen to the boy? Could Jeremy live with himself knowing that he could've done something if the boy ended up lying dead by the side of the road. Of course he couldn't.

That was his dilemma.  _Make sure Mitch and Scott are safe, have the class hate me. Let them get away with it, possible dead children on the freeway._  For anyone else it might have seemed like a no brainer, but like Avi had correctly judged last week, Jeremy did care too much. He knew he cared too much about how much his kids liked him. But it was also too late to change that way of thinking.

_What do I do?_

Then again...there was always a third option, one that no teacher should ever consider taking. But Jeremy was, despite what his students would say about him, not like every other teacher. And it was only now that he realised just how far he was prepared to step over the line in order to do what he believed best for his kids.

For a teacher that cared too much about his students safety and their opinion of him, it really did seem like the only option.

"Guys," he abruptly called for everyones attention. "I'm gonna ask you to do something very stupid for me right now and by all means you have the right to refuse."

They were all silent, eyes wide as they waited for his next sentence.

"Spit it out Mr L," Kirstie urged when Jeremy resisted for too long.

The man gulped.  _Here I go, I could just be sealing the fate of my career here._  "I'm gonna ask you to cover for me." He would've taken a photo of the incredulous looks on their faces if he could. "If Mitch is truly doing what you say he is then I'm going after him," he said solemnly, now resigned to what he was about to do. If he left now he might be able to catch Mitch before he began the journey home, providing the boy hadn't already been pulled over by the cops or... _No. Don't think about that._

"You can't stop him from seeing his dad," Kirstie immediately jumped on his plan, not fully realising that was not Jeremy's goal here.

"No," he agreed, and took one final deep breath of air. "But I sure as hell can make sure he's got there safely and give him a lift back."


	39. The Lying Game

_"Grown-ups never understand anything by themselves, and it is tiresome for children to be always and forever explaining things to them." - Antoine de Saint-Exupéry_

**Sunday 23rd March / Earlier that day...**

Kids are tougher than they look. If you think about it the art of growing up was one of the hardest life processes someone will ever undertake. Some never manage it at all. And amongst learning to walk, talk, read, write, make friends and make it through to adulthood all in one piece there was also the fact that they have to try and make sense of the crazy world they have been born into, because the world can be very confusing for someone so young.

For someone who doesn't understand how finances work it's hard to understand why the banks couldn't just print a load of money so everyone could have enough to survive. For someone who has never felt enough hatred that they would want someone to disappear completely acts of war and terrorism are made into a game; it's easier to look at it in that way.

Often it is not the kids who put on a tough front and are renowned for being hard as nails who are the most resistant to the horrors of life. It was the ones who carried on every day with the belief that eventually everything will turn out okay. Positivity; that's what made people tough. At the moment life for Scott was about as far from perfect as it could get but that didn't stop him from maintaining his - perhaps delusional - optimistic outlook on life. It was this practiced positivity that was helping him get through this, let's say rough patch, of his life.

It wasn't always easy; the building he had moved into practically seeped happiness out of everybody inside. It was an old building with no conditioning or central heating; it was always freezing in the night despite the heat of the days. There was never a room that didn't stink of smoke or weed, or one completely free of used needles. There were dangerous people living here, people who Scott knew had killed and were going to again if they got the chance. There was also a kind of curfew set in place for security reasons which meant it was easiest if he stayed inside after school, unless he wanted to risk the chance of getting locked out for the night.

But hey, it wasn't all bad. There was always some kid his age who would play with him and one of the older boy's had even leant him a pair of sneakers. He also saw his mom a bit more, although she would always be busy talking to someone else, someone important looking, and would get nervous and quiet when he got too near. There was definitely something strange going on with her. Something that had landed them in here anyway.

He also liked that he didn't have to lie to friends when they would ask if he felt safe because, despite everything, he did. He was in a secret building filled with multiple armed gang members. What wasn't safe about that? Okay he knew it wasn't ideal but it was better than nothing. Right?

Unfortunately, not even Scott's sunny disposition could save him from the dreaded "kids club" that a woman called Shelby at the shelter had been forcing all the youngest residents to attend. Well, forcing in the sense that she'd chase them round the building in the evenings until they got fed up. The woman was a wannabe kindergarten teacher, and looks wise you could say she fitted the part nicely. Young, blonde, pretty smile - she was only here because of her dodgy boyfriend - but the only things she knew about kids was the shit she read online. She was in no way anything like Mr L.

Her so called sessions were the most pointless and tedious hours Scott had ever wasted in his life, and he'd sat through a few dozen of Mr L's history lessons. If he and the others were lucky, they would occasionally manage to escape to one of their hiding places before Shelby cornered them, but if not that meant sitting in the common room at eight o'clock in the evening trying not to stab each other in the eyeballs.

Last night Shelby had caught Scott in the kids sleeping corner while he was searching for one of his socks. The blond swore it had been there the other day and suspected foul play. His number one suspect was Old Maggie Matthews, who always appeared to be wearing six layers of clothing, only five of which were her own. Scott didn't know if she was supposed to be here or had just walked in one day by mistake and decided to stay.

The sock excuse didn't give him a free pass however, and Shelby had dragged him off to the group of only two other grumpy looking kids, a happy looking teenager, and an indifferent looking man. The rest had been lucky enough to either hide themselves away or were out causing mayhem on the town with their older siblings.

That evening she had tried to get the four kids to draw their inner monologue without explaining to them what the fuck that was supposed to mean. Scott just drew an alien eating a tower of a burger which was a mistake as it made him extremely hungry.

In terms of food the situation had gone from bad to worse and Scott practically relied on Mr L's rations and whatever his friends would buy him to be his daily source of food. There was some free stuff that got handed out at the shelter, but it was always the biggest and strongest guys who got it first. There was no women and children first rule here and food was the only possession the nicer people wouldn't willingly share with him, mainly because they were the ones with kids of their own to feed.

There had been so many instances when shoplifting had seemed so appealing, so many times nabbing a sandwich would of been so simple or grabbing a candy bar and making a run for it would have been no problem for him; but with his snapback almost always firmly on his head and Mitch's words echoing in his ears, he could never bring himself to go through with it. A clean conscience couldn't take away the horrible pain in his stomach that he felt every night as he tried to get to sleep.

But true to form, the young blond never complained when his mom would have to tearfully explain to him once more that she couldn't afford food that day. She was looking just as bad off as her son and Scott was beginning to wonder where all that money she spent so many hours working for went, as none of it ever seemed to turn up in front of them.

Anyway back to last night; after they had scribbled on some paper for a while the youngest, six year old Josie, started flipping her middle finger at a man smoking weed in the corner until Shelby eventually caught the little African American girl mid act. "Josie," she scolded. "Are you making rude hand signals at that gentlemen behind?"

"No he's making them at me," the girl whinged as she sulkily turned back around.

"He's not doing anything," the young woman sighed, pushing her glasses up. Scott continued to aggressively draw marks on the table with his pencil, attempting to drill right through.

"I'll tell you what," Shelby decided as another bright idea popped into her head. "Let's all see who can tell the biggest lie," she challenged, clapping her hands together enthusiastically and Scott's pencil eventually snapped from the amount of force he was pressing it into the table.

Her so-called assistant, Rudy, a handsome Polish guy in his thirties who helped Shelby with her sessions sometimes, gave her a surprised look.

"It's a strategy," Shelby explained to the confused man like he was being the dumb one. "I got it off Mumsnet. It sort of downgrades the lying and makes it less attractive."

Rudy just stared open mouthed at her, scratching a hand through is buzz cut, and Shelby gave up trying to explain the method to her madness.

"It's a game Rudy," she said simply and Scott wondered why she kept him around. Despite what he said about wanting to learn from her and bla bla bla, it was clear to Scott the man just wanted to have sex with her.

Josie kicked off the lying with "I'm a toilet," still obviously in a foul mood.

Shelby put on her best smile. "Right," she nodded in approval, and gestured to the teenager that annoyed Scott the most in the shelter to have a go.

She went by the dumb name Madame Precious which was the most ridiculous title Scott had ever heard. A sixteen year old girl whose actual name was a mystery, and who always wore what Scott's mom called "gypsy clothing". Apparently she had some condition that made her a bit strange but that didn't stop Scott from dreading the sight, sound and smell of the "Madame".

"I'm a magical witch," was her lie. Fair enough, but it didn't end there. "And I'm a hundred thousand years old and at night I sprout wings and I fly above the owls and the bats and I leap over the moon and into the s–"

"Vasily your go!" Shelby interrupted the intensive backstory just before Scott was going to start banging his head on the table out of frustration.

Vasily was the final child present at the table. Ten years old; he was a quiet Russian boy with spiky jet black hair who Scott knew was related to The Strikers by blood. Like Scott, he was small for his age but with a far darker sense of humour. Or maybe it wasn't humour and the boy was simply a psychopath. The blond got on with him well enough though.

"I have the deadly ebola virus," Vasily announced in his thick Russian accent. "And we're all going to die in the next twenty four to forty eight hours," he finished by checking his watch for good measure.

Shelby nodded again with forced happiness. "Nice. Scott your go," she instructed the boy who had been busy thinking up ways to escape this torture.

Mirroring Josie's sulky pose, Scott muttered "I like Madame Precious."

The teen turned to him looking confused and for a moment the little boy felt a bit mean. But he was grumpy, hungry and tired so that feeling soon passed.

Thankfully, the older girl just shrugged his jibe off as annoying little kid talk but Shelby's eyes widened at his remark and she quickly tried to repair what he had said. "That's lovely sweetheart. Um, anyway, let's get on with the game," she laughed nervously.

Scott scowled at her. "That was part of the game!" he cried out.  _Doesn't she understand the rules to her own stupid game?_

"Ha-ha I'm a toilet too!" the woman tried to interrupt him.

"No you're not," Josie interjected.

"It was part of the game," Scott continued to whinge, ignoring the glare Shelby was sending his way.

"Vasily why don't you have another go?" she asked desperately. 

"My middle name is Elizabeth, I'm thirty six years old...I drive a Ford," the boy spoke in a monotone voice, giving the woman a look which told her exactly what he thought of her dumb game.

Nevertheless Shelby still managed to get another twenty minutes worth of lying out of the four before their rescue finally came. They'd just heard the closest bathroom was out of order so the two youngest immediately saw this as an excuse to go to a bathroom far away from where they were. Scott had just finished whining: "I need to pee!" and Josie had just finished shouting back at him: "No you don't you're just copying me!"

"No I need it more than you!"

"Well you both have to hold on," Shelby snapped, her irritation finally overflowing. She was no teacher but she was also no fool to their ploys.

"I smell burning."

Everyone turned to Rudy who had been silent for some time, just staring blankly ahead of him. Scott lifted his nose to the air, trying to catch the scent also.

"Oh God," Shelby put a hand across her mouth in panic. "You don't think someone's set fire to the kitchen again do you?"

Scott smiled to himself at the amount of times that had happened since he had been here. The kitchen wouldn't pass any of the standard health and safety regulations. He didn't care if the whole place burned to the ground to be honest, maybe then they could go back home, and it wasn't like he used the kitchen anyway.

No, right now his main priority was still to escape. "I'm desperate," he continued to moan.

"I saw on the UK news that this family's house caught on fire and melted their doors together so they couldn't get out and they were burnt alive inside to a crisp."

They all then switched their attention to Vasily who remained as blank faced as ever, and who was reacting to his own statement as if were completely normal.

"Right, right okay," Shelby hastily stood up. "Well I'm going to check what's happening."

The moment the woman was out of sight was the cue for the three youngest kids to disperse to the nearest hideaway, none of them planning to exit until a safe family member was around or Shelby had given up on finding them. Scott was personally fond of a spot in the converted attic behind a closet, as it gave him a good view of the street below.

However before he scampered off he raised his nose in the air once more and tried to sniff out the smoke too. "I don't smell burning," he said, giving Rudy a puzzled look.

The man shifted his eyes side to side to make sure there was no Shelby nearby, before smiling sheepishly at the little boy. "I was playing the game," he confessed.

Scott had run off laughing in glee. Yeah...definitely not everyone in the shelter was all bad.

The next morning he was woken early by someone accidentally kicking him as they walked by. With nothing much to interest him in the shelter, he headed out to school ahead of time for a change. He thought he could afford to walk to school today, he didn't like to risk taking the subway too many times, knowing full well that one day his luck at going uncaught would run out.

He had to wait a few minutes before the guy at the door gave him the all clear to go but once he was outside the air was warm and the sun was a welcome sensation on his pale skin. Getting to school only took about half an hour longer if he walked and he had already learnt plenty of shortcuts that would keep him away from pedestrian traffic.

Walking in no particular hurry, he just allowed himself the pleasure of knowing he didn't have to rush this morning. As he strolled he tried making the drum sounds with his mouth that Kevin had been practicing recently. He wasn't very good at it, only able to make about four distinct beats. He blamed it on his missing tooth.

As he neared his school he lifted his hat to give his head a breather in the heat. He ran a hand across his head and frowned.  _That doesn't feel good._  His hair was definitely in need of a good wash, in fact his whole body probably was. Trying to remember the last time he had showered, he came up blank. He had been meaning to take a shower the previous night after Kirstie told him she could practically see dirt marks on his neck, but then there had been the stuff with Shelby and he had just forgot. No one at the shelter ever reminded him or cared enough to make sure he was a presentable human being.

Upon passing a gas station he took the opportunity to try and short out his messy hair in the window, flattening it down multiple times before it somewhat obeyed. He sighed at his reflection. _I don't look very nice_ , he sadly thought.  _Maybe this is why Mitch always makes up excuses to stop talking with me._

As it happened at that very moment, be it coincidence or fate, he spotted a very familiar face in the reflection.  _Mitchy?_  Not turning around, the blond continued to watch the older boy as he filled a tiny red car up with gas. He was confused. Why was Mitch here? And why did he have a car? He hurriedly darted round the side of the gas stop when the boy left his car to go and pay, poking his head out in scrutinisation of his friend's suspicious actions. This was definitely not normal behaviour.

Turning back to the car, Scott noticed the rear window was open, not very wide but wide enough for a kid like him. The boy steeled himself.  _It is time for Detective Scott to step up!_

Without really thinking anything through, the youngster dashed over to the car and slipped though the open window, stealthily stealing himself away on the floor under the blanket. It was only once he heard the car door slam and felt the vehicle pulling away that he realised he had absolutely no clue what he was planning to do here.

 _I gotta be like that Sherlock Holmes guy_ , he figured.  _Like in that one episode me and Kevo watched where he was blindfolded in the car but still knew where he was going!_

Even though he was no detective, the youngster had a pretty incredible memory of the streets of his city.  _We're turning right, this is the way to school_ , he realised. Maybe Mitch had just decided he wanted to drive illegally to school now?  _And right again, this is definitely the road to school._  Scott heard the sound of buses and children laughing, and assumed they were right outside the school gates. However instead of stopping Mitch just carried on driving.  _Okay now we're heading towards the police stations_ , he deciphered as he mapped out the route in his head.  _And now we must have just passed the bowling alley!_

As he congratulated himself on his cleverness he suddenly realised where they were headed.  _Wait...this is the turning for the slip road._  He could hear the noise of heavy traffic from the overpass and felt his body tilt sideways as they travelled on the curved road to join it.

The young boy was completely disorientated.  _Why are we on the freeway?_  Mitch wouldn't be running away from home, would he?  _No, no offence to him but he'd be too scared to do that._ But he certainly wasn't scared enough to risk whatever it was he was doing right now.

Coming up with no reasonable explanations for this little trip he decided now was the time to reveal himself. "What are you doing?" he asked, suddenly popping his head up from under the blanket with no regard as to how Mitch might react to finding out he had a secret stowaway on board.

As it so happened the boy reacted by screaming, followed by a very loud "Oh fucking hell!" the car veering from side to side as the teen momentarily lost control of the wheel.

"Watch the road Mitchy!" Scott cried out a reminder as he was rocked across the car floor.

After a few heart stopping moments, the older boy did so, sending a glare into the rear view mirror as the blond stood up and shook himself down. "The fuck are you doing in here?" he shouted at him.

 _I just thought I'd have a nap_ , Scott wanted to say but didn't want to risk making Mitch so infuriated that he'd let go of the steering wheel again. "I...I wanted to know where you were going," he said instead, his voice squeaking at the end like it always did when he knew he was in trouble. "I saw you go to pay for gas and I squeezed in through the window."

"You couldn't have just asked me like a normal person?" Mitch fretted. "Oh shit shit," he began repeatedly cussing, staring dead ahead, eyes wide. "I'm in so much shit." He let out a fake half laugh, shaking his head in wonder at the mess he had ended up in.

"I'm sorry Mitchy," Scott said in a small voice, leaning his head on the front passenger seat.

The older boy let out a big sigh and slapped at the blond's arm urgently. "Put a seat belt on for goodness sake," he ordered. "Were you trying to get us fucking killed?" he asked, slightly calmer now, as Scott scrambled to the front seat and secured himself in.

"You shouldn't have left the window open then," Scott countered, his upset at being told off turning into grumpiness. It was probably because he was hungry. He was always grumpy when he was at his most hungry and that was usually after weekends when food had been scarce.

"You broke into my car?" Mitch questioned in shock.

"No, I told you I squeezed through the little gap," the youngster snapped. "Anyway it's not your car. You don't own a car," he pointed out and readied himself for an argument. Mitch however was silent, just focusing on driving, the tightening of his grip on the wheel the only indication he had even heard Scott.

"Mitchy?" the boy spoke up after a while.

"Be quiet."

And so he was.

For the next ten minutes they both just sat in a tense silence; Scott trying his hardest not to fidget in his seat and Mitch muttering quietly to himself over and over again. When it became too much Scott once again said "I'm sorry," because he didn't know what else he was allowed say.

"No." Mitch replied instantly, before shaking his head. "No, I'm not mad at you kiddo," he said again in a much softer voice, the one Scott was more used to. "I just didn't want you to get involved in all this mess."

Scott relaxed, feeling a lot more comfortable with talking to the teen now. "Been keeping things from me again Mitchy?" he inquired with a smirk. The teen didn't say anything but he didn't need to. This whole situation was a result of Mitch keeping things from him. Scott wasn't mad though. "Well that makes two of us," he added, referring to him keeping Mitch in the dark about his living situation.

The older boy smiled slightly as he slumped his shoulders. "It's too late to turn back now," he decided. "You're just gonna have to come with me."

_Fine by me. As long as we get lunch at some point._

"Where are we going?" 

" _I'm_  going to visit my dad.  _You're_  going to stay in the car and keep your head down. Understand?"

He nodded in agreement. Mitch wasn't messing around here.

After another break in the conversation Mitch finally asked: "Why didn't you just come and talk to me instead of hiding Scott? You could've have saved me a lot of trouble."

"I knew you would tell me to go away," the blond insisted. "You don't like hanging out with me as much anymore, ever since I went to the place."

"That's not true."

"Whenever I try to talk to you, you always make up some excuse to go."

"I...I thought you didn't like me talking to you, after what I said to you that one time..."

Scott pulled a face at him. "What the fuck are you on about?"

The other boy looked surprised for a moment, and then he smiled, for real this time. "You're right," he admitted. "I've been the idiot here."

 _Yeah_ , Scott huffed.  _Teenagers are just as confusing as adults sometimes._  At least Mitch was a lot quicker to own up to his mistakes than most others. "I forgive you," he told his friend.

The teen raised his eyebrows. "Just like that?"

Scott nodded once. "Just like that."

Swivelling his head to watch the scenery pass by, he heard the other boy let out a small chuckle. "Of course Avi was right," Mitch said to himself.

"Hmm?"

"Nothing, it's just..." he gave the boy a brief glance, brown eyes shining with fondness, "you can be incredibly predictable in your actions sometimes Scotty."

The youngster spent a while trying to work out what that meant before giving up.  _I'm too dumb for whatever Mitchy and Avi have been talking about._

Observing the boy behind the wheel again, he suddenly took note of his friend's attire. "Why are you wearing adult clothes?" he asked incredulously, taking in Mitch's white shirt, black pants and tie and his hair that was slicked to the side instead of the normal fringe.

"So people don't look at me and see a fourteen year old driving illegally. I'm gonna try and not get us both arrested."

"Oh..." Scott had forgotten that was a possibility. _At least if I do get arrested, it'll give me some cred in the shelter_ , he thought in amusement as Mitch reached over to turn the radio on.

The song Write On Me by Fifth Harmony had just started playing and Scott was ecstatic. "Aww I love this song!" He immediately began singing along and noticed Mitch doing the same by the chorus. "I thought you only listened to the music that sounds like it's on drugs?" he asked, referring to the sounds Mitch referred to as electronica or "boom boom bap wow wow wah" as Kevin called it.

"Yeah well that's another lie to make me seem cooler than I really am."

Scott rolled his eyes.  _As if_ , he already knew Mitch was the coolest person on the planet. He didn't need to prove that by making stuff up.

Sitting up straighter as the seat belt began to ride above his head again, he turned excitedly to his friend. "Do you like Beyonce?" he asked. This was an important question.

"Do  _you_?" Mitch queried in shock and Scott was surprised he didn't know the answer already, he sang her songs loads in class.  _Then again I sing a lot of everything, everywhere...all the time._

"Yeah she's Queen!" he laughed, throwing his arms up in the air. "Whenever I go to Kevo's I watch her concerts all the time on his laptop!"

"Hmm..." Mitch laughed at his actions. "Right, okay she is, I agree with you there." He regarded Scott with an expression the younger boy couldn't quite place. It was as if Mitch had just had an idea but wasn't willing to share. Oh well, as long as it was nothing bad.

Leaning back and having to pull the seat belt below his face again, he gave his best friend a big grin. "This is fun. I've never been on a road trip before," he stated, before reassuring the teen. "I don't think you'll get arrested because you're a good driver. My neighbor Michael had his licence taken from him because he drove into a hot dog stand."

That started up a whole in-depth discussion about Scott's crazy neighbours - or ex-neighbors - and before too long they were both cracking up hysterically at each other and one of them was bouncing around wildly in his seat to every tune that came on.

During the ad breaks, Scott took a few seconds to catch his breath and then said very seriously: "I've missed this." He didn't need to expand on that for his friend to know what he was talking about.

"Me too," Mitch replied emphatically. "I promise from now on I'll never leave you in the dark again."

Scott believed him. Of course he did. If he was ever going to whole-heartedly believe someone's promise it was going to be the boy sat driving against the law next to him. He wished adults were this easy to talk to. He and Mitch had had their disagreement, got their feelings out into the open and resolved it in a fairly calm and car wreck free way; there had been no raging or screaming after Scott's initial jump scare. Scott just wished he could talk to his mom like that, without her trying to keep him oblivious to her obvious problems and he hoped that whatever Mitch needed to talk to his dad about wouldn't be too frustrating for him either.

 _Yeah_ , he thought, laughing again as Mitch started bopping his head along in time to Ariana Grande,  _adults are definitely strange and confusing people sometimes. Some of them just need to grow up and realise the world doesn't revolve around them, otherwise until then they're not really an adult, they're just pretending...huh, that's quite a good quote._  Scott thought about writing it down, but then the radio started playing Clean Bandit and the thought was quickly replaced with more wild dance moves.


	40. Honorable Risks

_A ship is safe in harbor, but that's not what ships are for. - William G.T. Shedd_

**Later that day...**

Mitch's stress levels had almost reached breaking point when he eventually made it to his destination. The worst part had been at the barrier to the prison entrance where Mitch was afraid he was going to be caught by one of the guards, and tried to puff himself up to make him look bigger in the drivers seat. Luckily - or wrongly depending on how you looked at it - the man in the booth only glanced up for a second before pressing the button that raised the barrier to let Mitch in. 

Scott was letting out mini snores next to him as he drove the car up to a quiet spot of the prison parking lot and turned the engine off. His friend had fallen asleep at some point between them grabbing food at a Sonic drive in and Mitch arriving at Bouldergate Medium Security Prison.

Mitch often wondered why his dad had been sent to a medium security prison. Sure he was convicted of stealing  _a lot_  of money, but it wasn't like he was violent in any way, or was going to commit some Shawshank style escape.

_It would be awesome if he did though._

When his dad had first been taken from him, when Mitch was only just starting sixth grade, he had often lain awake at night, thinking up scenarios where he'd hear a knock on his bedroom window and look out to see his father there, having escaped from wherever he was being held, ready to whisk him and his mom away to start a new life.

But obviously that knock had never came, and as he grew older Mitch had given in to the belief that he was never going to get to hug his father again until he'd served his time, the full twelve years.

_I'd be twenty three by then...if I make it to that age._

He knew that was morose thinking, that in this day and age people were living longer and longer thanks to advances in technology and better food and care for everyone; and yet there were days when Mitch struggled to see a future for himself. Thinking ahead to next year was terrifying enough, let alone another nine years.

One step at a time, he'd come all this way for a reason, so he better man up and get out of the fucking car first. He managed to rouse Scott just enough to make the boy promise him he'd stay in the car unless it was an emergency and not open the door for anyone who wasn't him. He even trusted the boy with his phone just in case. The blond agreed to all his terms and conditions, wished him luck, and promptly shut his eyes again.

Mitch couldn't blame him, the youngster had been looking exhausted for the past few days; at least the unexpected day off school would do him some good.

Walking through the visitors entrance, Mitch checked his watch to find that visiting hours would be ending in forty minutes. He could have arrived earlier but he had been driving at a snail's pace, if not slower.

Mitch was just grateful he hadn't crashed. It hadn't helped talking to Kevin the other day about his journey plans and having younger "helpfully" inform him of all the collisions that had occurred on his particular route. At least getting his license should seem simple compared to this ordeal now.

The guy at the desk was bald on top but with a big ginger beard, and he smiled kindly at Mitch as he walked up to sign in. He had booked ahead as was required but more for his own encouragement to actually turn up. "Are you with anyone else wee man?" Of course he turned out to be Scottish. For some reason the foreign accent relaxed him slightly though. Slightly.

"No I got the bus." There was a bus from another city that ran here, he knew because he'd contemplated travelling to that city first and then getting the bus here, but that would have required a lot more preparation.

"Oh," the man looked puzzled. "I thought it was due to stop here an hour ago."

"It did," Mitch quickly altered his story. "But then I went for a walk, to clear my head a bit beforehand."

It was half true. The last leg of the journey, after Scott had fallen asleep and Mitch turned down the radio, had been a time for the young teen to try and figure out exactly what he was supposed to say to a man who was so familiar and yet at the same time almost a stranger to him by now. 

His white lie worked well for him as the Scottish man nodded his head in sympathy. "Totally understandable young man." He pointed towards a door at the end of the hallway. "If you'd like to head through those doors, there'll be someone to show you to the visitation room."

"Okay, thank you." Mitch followed the instructions and was taken to a fairly busy room where they had those visitation phone booths in a line. It was all very strange to Mitch, who had only ever witnessed such a scene on crime shows before. He was shown to his booth and told it would take a few minutes before his father arrived. He was right next to a woman and her incarcerated boyfriend who were talking in graphic detail about the night they would spend together when he got out.

He sighed.  _Lovely_.

It would have been nice to get a closed booth but they cost extra money, and despite all the help his Aunt Emma had been providing, money was still tight at home. He never liked to moan when he had a kid like Scott subconsciously reminding him there were people living in much worse conditions, but there were days when he'd just suddenly have a random moment of " _oh shit, that needs to be paid for next month_ " or " _how are we going to afford such and such?_ ".

Getting off the pills and speaking to Lottie every week did make things easier - she had totally changed his view on psychiatrists forever - but there was no taking away from the fact that he was a fourteen year old kid trying to do the work of a fully grown adult. Kirstie probably would have been able carry it out with ease when she was his age, the girl was practically raising herself since she was born; and by the time Scott was his age too he'd probably be the same. Those two were tough kids, not like him.

He wondered what his dad would make of him when he saw him in the flesh. They had spoken a few times, for a few minutes every Christmas, but this would be the first time they looked each other in the eye again after more than three years.

_On a scale of one to ten I reckon I'll be about a six on his disappointment level._

As he was in the midst of judging which of his features and attributes might rank him higher or lower in his father's eyes, he noticed an orange colored form appear in front of him, and focused his eyes onto the man he had both longed for and been petrified to see.

"Mitch?" He could make out his name being spoken in shock through the glass before either of them had picked up the phone. "Oh my God it really is you. I thought the guys were playing some cruel trick on me." His dad gushed down the line the moment they did lift the phones to their ears.

Mitch didn't know what to say, any planned sentences completely forgotten the moment he'd laid eyes on his dad again. He studied the man before him, brown eyes growing larger by the second as the tears threatened to fall. His dad was shorter than he remembered, or maybe it was just because he himself had gotten taller. He also looked about a decade older, grey hairs and wrinkles apparent now and he had grown a full beard. On the other hand he looked healthier, he had lost weight since he'd been in here and bulked up in muscle. Other than that though the man in front of him was still most definitely his father.

He could see his father waiting for him to say something and Mitch opened his mouth to try and make a coherent noise. Choking out the word, "Dad," was about all he managed but the man smiled with joy all the same, reaching out to touch the glass panel that separated them.

"This is amazing, oh my...look at you, look how grown up you are," his father said in awe, his own eyes fully welling up. He shook his head and blinked a few times, as if to check his son really was sat right in front of him. "I've dreamt of this moment for a long time, you have no idea."

That killed Mitch like no other. _For so long it's been like he abandoned us, but I'm not any better. He must feel like I abandoned him._

"I'm sorry," the teen whispered. "I wanted to visit but..." He couldn't bring himself to finish that sentence. There were a whole list of reasons why visiting hadn't been feasible but he couldn't explain it all to his father now. "And the phone calls aren't cheap," he continued instead, absolutely feeling like he was digging a hole for himself. "I know that's no excuse," he apologised, lowering his head in shame.

He heard a sigh down the phone. "No," his father said gently. "No, it's fine Mitch. We spoke about this at Christmas, you're doing a great job at keeping our family afloat. You're doing more than I ever could have asked of you." His eyes were warm and full of love when Mitch eventually raised his head back up. "Besides, what's a couple of phone calls compared to seeing you for real? On the phone I can't see how much taller you are, or the way your dress sense has changed, or your hair."

The teen let out a small laugh, grateful there were no hard feelings, and brought a hand up to his hair, brushing his fringe to the side. He'd had it cut recently so it was nowhere near as long as it had been, to be honest the style he had right now wasn't too dissimilar to when he had last seen his dad. Still, he supposed any change, even the tiniest of ones, were going to be obvious to the man, just like they had been on him. Like father, like son; they both had very high observational skills.

"Oh yeah," Mitch mumbled, tidying his hair up a bit. "I didn't know if you'd approve."

"Whatever makes you happy Mitch. If it makes you happy then it's perfect."

He smiled. The man hadn't changed one bit, still just wanted the best for him. "Thanks Dad." That had meant more to him than his father could possibly have known. Coming out over the phone had been awkward to say the least, his dad had sounded happy for him but then there was no way for Mitch to properly gauge his reaction. Now though, being told face to face that he could do whatever made him happy, it felt like he'd just won the lottery.

 _I'm so lucky to have you as my dad_ , he thought, smiling at the man through the screen.  _Why did you have to leave me?_

"Who else is with you?" his dad asked.

"Scott," he replied truthfully, he saw no reason to lie about that one.

"Scott?"

"He's my best friend."

His dad's face lit up and Mitch realised that until now, he had probably never mentioned having any close friends to him before; up until this year he had always been kind of a lone wolf. "I can't wait to meet him," his dad told him earnestly. "Did he drive you here? Wait, shouldn't you be in school Mitch?"

Relieved that first question had been skipped Mitch cautiously admitted to playing truant. "Yeah, but I skipped today. What do they expect, only allowing visiting at this time."

Luckily his father didn't care too much, and just shook his head fondly at his son. "You sound so much like me when I was your age right now."

Mitch gulped. "I try," he murmured.

"Don't try too hard."

Mitch didn't quite understand what his dad meant by that and allowed the silence to linger until his the man spoke up again.

"How is Mom then? I know at Christmas you said she'd changed medication, how's that working?"

"She's–" He stopped himself. This was the really tricky subject, because his dad had absolutely no idea how hard things had gotten at home. He knew that his mom was taking anti-depressants, but he didn't have a clue about the alcohol, the hospital trips, the arguments, the fact that Mitch had been referred to a child's psychiatrist. And it wasn't even the guy's fault; Mitch had just chosen to omit any of that information when he'd spoken to him before. Being asked face to face was different, but still, as much as Mitch wanted to come clean and tell him everything, that was not what he was here for. So in the end he simply settled for saying: "She has good days and bad days. We both do."

His father nodded, trusting that what his son spoke was the truth. "You know I love her still. I've never stopped loving her," he insisted.

"Of course."

"And she knows it also?" The teen could see the man was desperate to know he still had the same woman waiting for him on the outside.

"Yeah," he assured him, although Mitch had never been more unsure of an answer in his life.

It satisfied his father though, who relaxed his shoulders. "Good...good, that's good," he said in relief.

Mitch didn't know if it was a mistake misleading his dad like that, but figured it couldn't do any serious harm, it wasn't like his parents were going to meet again for years anyway, if they were both still around that is.

Focusing his mind back onto the reason he had come all this way, he took a deep breath and looked his father straight in the eyes. "Dad...Mom said something to me other week," he began, and saw the man's curiosity rise. "She said something about you knowing what was going on, with all the money disappearing, she said that she told you to get out while you could but you didn't listen to her." He let it out all at once, managing to keep himself from stuttering, and analysed his father's expression. "Is it true?" he asked in a hushed voice.

He saw his dad's expression morph from one of surprise to one of nervousness before it finally settled into a serene one. Calm. Mitch had not been expecting calm. Anger or confusion maybe, but not calm. "So that's why you came up here," the man speculated quietly. "Searching for answers are you my boy?"

Mitch quickly interjected: "It's not like that at all Dad...but if I'm being honest it was what spurred me on," he admitted; he couldn't lie himself when he was here demanding the truth. "I just  _had to_  know."

When he had played the situation out in his head multiple times previously, this conversation had gone three ways. Either his dad would deny all but Mitch would know he was lying, or he would admit to it and be full of regret and sorrow, or he might honestly have no idea what his mom was going on about and they could move onto other topics. Mitch was hoping for the latter, expecting the middle and dreading the first.

As it turned out none of these predictions came true. Instead his father covered his face with one hand, leaning onto countertop before him. Mitch heard his shaky breathing down the line and then a small voice. "There's no easy way to say this so I'm just gonna come right out," his father spoke up. "Yes, I knew that I was at risk and yes, I chose to stay at risk in the hope that I could save everything."

It was most likely the shock at this unexpected revelation working on him, but Mitch managed to remain surprisingly collected as he gave his father a puzzled look. He just had one question. "Why would you do that?" he asked, utterly astounded.

His father gave a small grunt of a laugh and uncovered his face. "You must think me pretty uncaring," he judged, rubbing at his eyes, "a father who chose to carry on down the road that could tear his family apart. Who thought he was clever enough to take on the whole system. Maybe I was, I mean,  _obviously_  I was, I never planned to end up in here." The man turned his head upwards, reflecting on the cage he was being held in. He didn't move for a good thirty seconds. Mitch didn't say anything either, just carried on staring through the glass, unsure how he was meant to be feeling, his body a mix of emotions.

"But  _I had_  to do something," his father startled him by suddenly speaking very loudly, as he sat upright again and gave Mitch his full attention. His expression had altered once again, and this time he looked determined. "I didn't want my son to grow up in a world where people could get away with the shit - sorry - the stuff they did," he declared with conviction.

Despite his mood Mitch almost had to smile at the fact his dad still thought he was innocent enough that he wasn't used to people cussing. "I wanted you to grow up with the knowledge that good people do good deeds," his father continued, thumping the counter with his hand to emphasize the last few words, reminding Mitch of the lawyer the man had once been. His dad at least was completely convinced his actions were for the best. Mitch couldn't disagree more right now.

"Yeah, well I didn't," he countered, throat tight, the words coming out strained. "I just grew up without my dad."

He didn't care if his dad saw him crying now. He only wanted the man to understand the pain he had caused him, and was causing him still by admitting to what he'd done. "Oh Mitch," his dad reached out towards him and the teen flinched, even though there was no way his dad could actually touch him through their barrier.

Mitch just turned his head to the wall separating his booth from the next, blinking rapidly and trying to keep his cries quiet. He focused instead on the sounds coming from the couple beside him, ones that were gross enough to keep him from breaking down anyway. Enough of a distraction to keep him from banging on the glass and yelling at his dad for leaving him.

 _All this time_ , Mitch thought sadly,  _all this time I believed he was caught up in something he had nothing to do with, but all along he was just fighting for the other side, the losing side._  Whatever his dad had been trying to achieve, about showing him that the world wasn't totally cruel and evil, had been wasted on him; he was probably one of the most mistrusting when it came to the people in power who were supposed be on the little guy's side.

"Y'know sometimes I lie awake at night and imagine what might have happened if I had just walked out and left," his dad eventually spoke up and Mitch was surprised to learn that neither had said a word for about five minutes when he checked the wall clock. Looking back to his dad now he could see the man also had tears running down his cheeks. Pursing his lips tightly together, the man paused for another beat while he too struggled with his emotions.

"Maybe I would have been totally fine with it," he continued, voice quivering, "but deep down I know I couldn't have lived with myself knowing I hadn't given it my best shot. Was I reckless, hell yes, but you've always gotta give it your best shot; try and do it for the little guy. I'm not just the kind of guy who can stand by and watch as money is stolen from innocent, hard-working folk. I didn't care who I was going up against, it could've been the President himself and I still would've fought against them."

This side of his father was a revelation for Mitch. He'd always known the man was honest, compassionate and loyal to a fault. It was what had made him a great lawyer. But it was also what had made him a great scapegoat for the higher-ups. This side though, this doggedness and ruthless intent to see justice served; he had never thought his fairly short, suit-dressing, glasses-wearing father had it in him.

_Was he always like this or has prison changed him?_

"Please don't see at as me not caring about you or Mom," he begged for his son to understand. "All I ever wanted to be was a good Dad, and that meant doing and fighting for what I believed in. I still am fighting, I can assure you of that."

There he was. There was the dad Mitch knew. So perhaps he had changed slightly, but Mitch understood he couldn't blame his father for what had happened. He had been trying to do the right thing. Just because Mitch knew he himself would never have the guts to fight against the system in such a way didn't mean he was against those who did.

 _Once again, he makes it even more difficult for me to live up to him_. Mitch was never going to be a fighter with a body and mind as weak as his. Lottie was always telling him that he was stronger than he believed but that message always seemed to hit a brick wall in his brain. Something that hadn't hit a brick wall just now though, was the last part of what his father had said.

"You're still fighting?" Mitch asked wiping his eyes dry, unsure if he had heard correctly.

His dad nodded and wiped at his own eyes, checking to make sure no one else was paying attention to them before speaking in hushed tones. "Things have moved on Mitch. The top dogs are no longer as powerful as they once were. The little guys are fighting back," he informed him, unable to keep the excitement out of his voice.

"I'm obviously limited with what I can contribute to in here but for the past year me and a few of the other good guys, you remember Jason and Robbie?" He did. They were two of his dad's closest friends and allies, who had almost looked set to go down with him. They checked up him and his mom every now and then but Mitch had thought life wasn't much better for them after they had lost their jobs and had their own families to try and provide for. Apparently not though as his dad further explained. "We set something in motion, all those years ago, and it never stopped spinning even with me in here." He gave Mitch a small smile, eyes shining now with ambition rather than tears. "And now it's about to its full velocity."

"I don't understand." Had so much really been occurring unbeknownst to him since his dad had been put away? Mitch had been to busy trying to be an adult that he had never kept up with the collateral damage the trial might have caused.

"I'll explain everything to you one day," his dad promised. "Anything you want to know I'll tell you, down to every last boring fact and statistic." He leant so close to the glass his nose was almost touching it and Mitch mirrored his movements so that they were only a few inches apart. "And I don't want to get your hopes up but just know this Mitch," the man began. "If you see any news reports surfacing about The Emerson deal, know that your Dad might be coming home sooner than expected," he told him, voice breaking at the end, and pressed his palm against the glass once more.

Mitch felt his body start to shake. "Truly?" his whimpered, bringing his own hand up to the glass.

"I wouldn't say it if I didn't truly believe it," his dad choked out, the tears threatening to fall again, and that was when Mitch finally lost it.

"I need you back. I can't do it on my own," he cried, face crumbling. "I try but I'm not you, I'm not  _good enough._ " He allowed his true feelings to express themselves, the feelings he always suppressed. The young teen always tried to act cocky and mature, like he could handle any curveball thrown at him, but he could never catch a break. Every time he thought he had scaled one hurdle there was another one waiting just around the corner to knock him back down. "I've failed you and I've failed Mom," he tearfully told his dad.

Even now he felt bad for admitting this in front of the man. All those carefully chosen words on the phone at Christmas were wasted now he could see his son was a total mess. All he ever wanted was to keep their house and his mom safe for them, but at the moment he wasn't doing a very good job on either front.

"Mitch," he heard his father say but couldn't bring himself to look at him. "Mitch look at me," the man instructed again, firmly but gently, and the teen reluctantly obeyed. His father was staring at him, not in disappointment but almost in... _admiration?_  "You couldn't have made me a prouder father," his dad earnestly insisted. "Look at you," he grinned in joy. " _You_  are a remarkable, incredible young man.  _You_  are everything that is good and pure in this world and  _you_  are precisely the reason why I'm still fighting and why the little guys still have a chance to take back what's theirs."

Mitch heard what he was saying but still shook his head in denial. "I can never live up to you," he protested.

"And I don't want you to," his dad countered instantly. "I want you to be your own wonderful person. I want you to be you."

In spite of his tears, the young teen wanted to scream and shout in euphoria at that point. The person who's approval he had always sought, was proud  _of him_. His dad was confirming everything Lottie had been trying to tell him for months, about being your own person and not letting the views of anyone else affect who you wanted to be.

He met his dad's eyes once more. Brown orbs gazing adoringly into equally loving grey ones.  _I love you so much_ , were what both pairs were saying.

"You better get out soon Dad," he said, smiling properly for the first time since he'd arrived. "You owe me that music concert," he told him. That had been in the books, his father taking him to his first concert, before all the shit had kicked off. Eleven year old Mitch couldn't wait for the outing, anxiously counting down the days until the school break. Fourteen year old Mitch hadn't forgotten about the promise.

The man's face lit up in remembrance. "So I do," he agreed. "Is it still Beyonce you're into?"

The young teen laughed. "Maybe verging on a slight obsession," he admitted sheepishly. "I think Scott would like to go too," he added. That would certainly make his friend's year, or life, judging by the boy's enthusiasm earlier.

"Excellent," the man winked. "I can't wait for it."

"Time!" Their conversation was abruptly ended when a prison officer called the end of visitation hours. Had forty minutes really passed that quickly?

 _I don't want to go_. He didn't want to leave his dad, not when he had never felt so close to him in his whole life.

Unfortunately there was no other option. "Stay who you are for me Mitch," his dad quickly spoke as the guards entered to take the inmates back. "Stay strong and loving and beautiful. I love you  _so so much_."

"I love you too," Mitch confirmed. "And Dad?"

"Yeah?"

"Shave the beard, it doesn't suit you."

"Oh? Well I thought it made me look quite studious," the man said, scratching at his brown-grey stubble. He gave an exaggerated sigh. "But for you I supposed I could."

They both shared one last laugh. That was nice. Leaving the conversation on a light note after all that had passed between them prior.

"Bye Dad," Mitch said as a big man came and stood next to him with his arms folded, indicating they had already gone overtime.

"Bye Mitch," his dad also said his farewells, before he put the phone back, stood up and was lead away. Mitch did the same on his side, not wanting to watch his dad walk off - that would bring back too many painful memories - and allowed himself to be escorted back to the main reception where he could sign out.

As he left the building and headed back to his car he did indeed feel as though the part of him that had been missing since his dad was taken from him was filled slightly; not put back completely but not as empty as before.

Scott was still inside the car much to his relief. The boy was curled up on his side in the seat but Mitch could see he was playing with his phone rather than sleeping. He lightly tapped on the window before opening the drivers door and a much more awake Scott sprang up

"How'd it go?" the boy asked anxiously. "Did he answer your questions?"

Mitch gave him a reassuring smile. "That and more," he let him know. He didn't need to explain in-depth any further to Scott, he knew it would likely go over the boy's head anyway. "He's still the same man. He's still incredible." He let out a small laugh in wonder at the conversation he had recently experienced. It still felt as though it were too good to be true.

"Yay!" The blond gave him a massive gap-toothed grin followed by a hug. "I want to meet him."

"You will one day," Mitch told him. "And let me tell you a little secret," he leaned forward to whisper in the boy's ear, even though there was no one around to listen in. "He said he'd take us to see Beyonce in concert."

Scott recoiled in shock, his expression utterly priceless. "You're kidding."

Mitch smirked and shook his head. "Nope."

The blond took a deep breath and let out a very loud, "Woohoo!" throwing his arms into the air and bouncing up and down.

The other boy laughed. "Crazyhead," he teased, although that was pretty much what he was currently like inside.

_Now it's time to get back as quickly as possible but not too quick. Safe. Safe and without an issue._

He turned the key in the ignition and the car...did not start.  _No. Please no_. He tried it again but still there was no response.  _No, no, no!_  Third time lucky didn't work either as the car refused to come alive. Mitch took the keys out and stared blankly ahead in a panic.

"Well shit."

The boy next to him quit with his bouncing and turned to his friend. "Huh?"

Mitch looked to him worriedly. "The car won't start," he informed him.

Scott thought about this dilemma, appearing nowhere near as hazed as Mitch was. "Is there gas in it?" he asked.

"Of course there is, that's how you got in in the first place!"

"Oh yeah!" The youngster laughed. "What is it then?"

"I don't know," Mitch exasperated, resisting the urge to just slam his head against the car horn. "I guess I'll go and have a look," he declared, opening his door again.

"I'll help!" Scott yelled, also jumping out.

The two made their way to the front of the car and Mitch opened up the hood, staring dumbly inside for any obvious problems, like a fire or something he could fix.  _Oh who am I kidding?_  He was no car expert, or novice for that matter. He could just about drive one and obey the traffic laws and that was it, he hadn't cared before about what was going on underneath the paintwork.

Luckily his friend did actually have some common sense when it came to vehicles. "Is that meant to be leaking?" Scott pointed to something - Mitch had no idea what - that was spewing some sort of liquid.

"No. I'm gonna go with a no for that one Scotty," Mitch grunted, swivelling so he could sit on the front of the hood and rest his head in his hands.

_Well this is it then. I've screwed us both over._

"Have you got any gum?" Scott asked hopefully.

Mitch sighed.  _Always food on the mind with this kid._  "No sorry."

"Not for me!" Scott laughed. "I thought you could use it to block the leak," he explained. "I saw it in a show once but it was an egg. The guy cracked an egg in his car to make it work," he tried to clarify but Mitch was pretty sure this "show" was either a cartoon or some sort of slapstick comedy. "But I thought you were more likely to have gum on you rather than eggs," Scott added.

"I'll check if Zach left any inside," Mitch walked back to have a look, only to satisfy the younger boy. Opening up a few of the compartments he surprisingly found no farm produce but did happen upon a nearly empty pack of cigarettes. "Nope, no chewing gum or eggs in here!" he called out, before walking back to sit on the hood and lighting up a smoke.

Scott narrowed his eyes at him. "I thought you were giving up?"

"I am." He hadn't had a cigarette in nearly a whole month. "These were just left in the car." And he would take anything to relieve his stress right now.

"Can I try one?" the blond asked, fiddling with the packet.

"Hell no," Mitch shut down that thought right away and snatched the box off him. "You're already an alcoholic, I'm not encouraging you to be a chain smoker too," he teased. He regretted starting himself and was grateful he had never really got addicted to the nicotine, otherwise stopping would have been so much harder. He was lucky in that sense. Still, it wasn't going to take away the year's worth of damage it had probably caused to his lungs.

Scott folded his arms in defiance at Mitch's accusation. "Y'know it's my Mom's fault that I've tried alcohol cos she wasn't there to stop me like moms are supposed to." That took Mitch aback. This was the first time he'd heard anything unlike "my mom's the best mom in the world" come from the little boy's mouth.

Mitch couldn't blame Scott if he was becoming slightly more pessimistic when it came to the woman who was supposed to be there for him at all times, but he also didn't want the boy to suspect Mitch looked down on his mom in any way. Compared to his own mom, Scott's mom seemed like someone who would never give up when it came to her family. Mitch had never even met her but hearing how long and hard she worked, and what she'd had to sacrifice for her son, meant she was alright in his eyes.

"I know it may not always seem like it Scott, but when it comes to your mom, you are a very lucky boy."

He smiled when the blond looked up at him with a frown on his face and crouched down in front of the boy, grabbing both of his hands in his.

"Your mom is giving up time with you, time she can never get back, and I'll bet you anything it's killing her not to spend time with her son," he acknowledged. "But you know why she's doing this Scotty? She's doing it because she loves you so much, that she's out there working every hour or every day to try and give you a future you deserve."

"Why doesn't she just say that?" Scott questioned in a small voice.

"Because sometimes parents think they are protecting you by keeping you in the dark. Or grandparents, think of Kevin," he reminded the boy of how their friend had been kept oblivious nearly his while life. "But trust me when I say there isn't any greater sacrifice a parent can make than doing something that might make their child hate them in order to give them a better chance in life."

 _Like my dad. Even though he knew his actions might one day come back to bite him in the back, he still continued with what he was doing, because he thought that was what a good man would do. And he wanted me to have a good man as a father._  Speaking those similar words to Scott had once again reiterated to Mitch how much his father had given up doing what he believed was right and further increased his admiration for the man.

"I don't hate her," the boy vowed. "I just wish she didn't have to always go."

"I know you do," Mitch said, pulling the boy in for a hug.  _I wish my mom would go. As in get up and leave the house, in fact do anything other than mope around all day!_  He always tried her do get moving, but she always complained she was too tired, unless she was having on of her funny spells and was acting too crazily upbeat. Mitch didn't understand how she could be so tired when she never did anything.

"You're the best," Scott declared after they parted. "I wish I could be more like you. Not copying or anything," he clarified. "But just better than me," he finished, completely entranced by the older boy, and Mitch got the feeling that if he requested anything of the blond in that instance he would agree without a moments hesitation.

That was another issue he'd been having problems with recently. Don't get him wrong, it was nice at times, _I mean everyone likes to have an admirer_. But sometimes Scott just gave him a certain look that made Mitch suspect the nine year old viewed him as someone to idolise. Sometimes Mitch would just be talking about music or clothes or boys and would notice Kirstie start to smirk strangely at him, only to look down and see a pair of blue eyes gazing adoringly up at him, hanging off his every word. Heart eyes Avi had jokingly nicknamed them.

Well if he could teach the boy anything it would be what his father had taught him today.

"Just promise me one thing Scotty; promise me you won't turn out like me."

The boy was up in arms instantly. "But you're awesome Mitch!" he argued.

"No," Mitch said firmly. "I want you to be you," he spoke slowly, emphasising every word, wanting to make sure his message got through. "I'm no hero or saint or freaking royalty so stop putting me on a pedestal I don't deserve." He smiled at the puzzled youngster. "I'm the one who should be looking up to you," he told him.

"Look at you," he carried on. "You're the kindest, adorable, most sweet kid in the world, always looking out for your friends and making sure everyone's happy. And now you're probably gonna be in trouble because of me. You should quit with me while you're ahead kiddo. I'm gonna cause nothing but trouble for you."

He was joking of course, he never wanted to stop being friends with the kid, but there was an element of truth to his statement. Scott had the potential to be someone special. He had an aura about him that attracted others towards him and even though he was still only young, Mitch along with Mr L and his classmates new the kid had that sort of star-like quality going for him.  _I wouldn't be surprised if he ends up famous one day, with his own fans to adore him._

But he was never going to get to that level if he was associated with a boy like Mitch. The teen knew he wasn't mainstream enough for a lot of people to handle, his quirks which some found charming were just off-putting to the majority. He'd accepted that a long time ago and was content with knowing he was well-liked in the eyes of the ones who mattered. He just didn't want to be the one responsible for holding Scott back and he didn't want to forever be in the boy's shadow either. 

As always though, Scott had an answer for everything. "Okay my turn!" he exclaimed, like they were playing some sort of game, maybe he believed they were. The two of them often liked to think up small, stupid games to pass the time. A few previous examples included Say Anything, Pokemon Pictionary and a game where they tried to sing songs backwards.  _Yeah_ , Mitch decided with a smile as the blond moved his hands so he was holding Mitch's instead of the other way around,  _we're a pretty crazy pair._

Lifting his head high, Scott proudly declared: "You're the smartest, bravest, funniest friend I could ever wish for in the whole universe and I know I'm really really lucky that I've got you. I don't know what I'd do without you anymore. Like, I can't even imagine life without you now! That would just be..." the boy made a noise of discontent and shuddered, "that would be very not good," he decided and Mitch smiled warmly at him.

"And about putting you on that pedal thingy and seeing you as a hero, what's so wrong with that?" the boy queried. "You work your hardest for people you love every day and you're passionable... wait I think I just mixed up two words there!" The blond's giggle was infectious as he tried to correct his sentence. "You're  _passionate_  about everything you believe in.  _Plus_  fashionable. You're a better role model to have than ninety nine point nine, nine, nine, nine percent of celebrities out there. 'Sides," he smirked, "not all super heroes wear capes Mitchy, some wear designer hoodies."

Mitch's smile grew so wide he thought his cheeks might burst. "Very Vetements," both said at the same time. He'd taught the boy well.

Hearing that sort of praise from his dad was one thing; but hearing it from the boy in front of him, someone who had seen Mitch at his worst and weirdest and most vulnerable. It really did make him feel truly loved.

Brushing the boy's messy fringe off his forehead, he held his arms open. "C'mere you." They hugged once more except this time Mitch used what little strength he possessed to lift the youngster into the air and whirl him round a few times, the boy's laughter ringing out across the parking lot. "I must've done something right in a past life to land you as my friend Scotty," he said, once he'd set him back down.

 _Hey, maybe I was a saint. Saint Mitchell, Patron Saint of wine? Or hot boys maybe?_  Scott apparently had a different theory.

"Yeah! I think...I think you were...C3PO, from Star Wars y'know, and I was R2D2," he told him excitedly.

"Uh huh. What does that make the rest of our gang then?" Mitch indulged his idea.

"Umm," the boy pondered on this carefully. "Avi's Han Solo and Kirstie's Princess Leia! And Kevin can be Yoda!"  _Surprisingly accurate_. "Mr L might be Darth Vader...or Jabba."  _Ha, maybe not that one._

"What happened to he's the best ever- Oh... shit shit shit," Mitch began freaking out as a very familiar Toyota Corolla drove through the gate. "It's Mr L."  _No one else was clueless enough to drive a lime green car._

"Yep." Scott echoed, not at all fazed by their teacher's surprise appearance, not able to understand how much trouble they were both going to be in.  _But mainly me. Hopefully just me if I get any say in the matter._  "Did he implant a tracking thingy in us?" Scott asked, watching eagerly as their teacher found a place to park.

"No," Mitch replied, crouching down behind his car, unsure what he was really doing, it wasn't like he could escape from this one. "No he must've heard it from Kevin."

"You told Kevin but not me?" Scott questioned, sounding slightly hurt.

"Only because he was actually he was the one who gave me the idea of driving believe it or not." That still amazed him every time he thought about it. "And I never really told him to keep it a secret so technically I suppose I can't be mad at him." He reminded himself to have a word to the boy about indiscretion later though.

They both ducked down out of sight as the young man stepped out of his car, only listening as his footsteps drew nearer and nearer. He must have spotted them the moment he drove in seeing as he made a beeline straight towards them. The footsteps stopped and Mitch peeped under the car to see a pair of black shoes poking out on the other side.

"I see you," their teacher spoke up and the two both arose comically from their hiding spot. The two kids were quiet with worry as the young man walked around and regarded them with an unreadable expression. Mitch wondered if they were going to be shouted at right where they stood, the thought of which made him feel uncomfortable; he never liked being involved in a public scene.

The teacher placed a hand on both their shoulders and looked at them fixedly. He didn't appear very impressed by Mitch's driving ability or either of their truancies as he scanned them over.

Mitch gulped as the young man opened his mouth, ready to fight his corner, even though he knew he wouldn't have much of a leg to stand on seeing as  _he had_  broke the law. "You two," Mr L began, struggling for words before his face broke into one of absolute relief. "Are going to be the death of me," he burst out, wrapping his two long arms around the boys. Mitch froze in shock.  _Uhh_... this wasn't the reaction he had been expecting. "I was so worried!" the man chastised them and the teen could see that his teacher truly was extremely relieved to find both his students safe and well.

"We're sorry, aren't we Mitchy?" Scott begged for forgiveness instantly, probably upset at finding out he had been the cause of someone else's distress.

Mitch nodded. "Yeah." He struggled to make it sound genuine. Of course he was sorry that Mr L had been in such a panic, but then again he wasn't sorry for what he'd done, because if he hadn't then there would have been no answers, no seeing his dad, no eye-opening conversation.

"You drove that piece of junk?" His teacher asked, giving the dumb car a once over.

"Yep...it's broken now."

"But you're not," the young man clarified. "You're both okay." Mitch was a little disconcerted as to why the man was smiling so much. Was he just trying to be cheery for Scott and then as soon as the youngster was out of the way he'd hand Mitch over to the authorities? Or perhaps he'd already called them and they were on their way right as they spoke?

"I'm sorry Mitch," his teacher's voice interrupted the boy's bleak train of thought.

"Sorry?"

"Sorry that you didn't feel you could come and talk to me about this," the man said in disappointment. "If you wanted to see your dad I could have sorted something without you risking your life or your clean record."

Mitch gaped at him. "It wasn't you, I just..."  _Why didn't I tell you?_  The man had never been judgemental and always been kind and forgiving to him, despite Mitch being the one who had probably caused him the most stress so far if you took into account the initial moodiness, the hospital trips, the disappearances, the arguing with Kirstie and now to top it all off, this little stunt. 

There was no reason for Mitch not to trust this guy except...there was always going to be that little bit of doubt. Because no matter what Mr L did, he was still a guy in a suit. An awkward, lanky guy in a very cheap suit, but he was still a form of authority and Mitch mistrusted authority with a passion.

"Did you get what you came for?" the man asked after Mitch failed to finish his sentence.

"I did." He had. Currently he was still suspicious about what was going to happen to him.

"Good, well so did I." He pointed to the boys. "You two are coming back with me and we're never going to speak of this again, not to anyone," he instructed pulling Mitch into his side. "And you even think of driving illegally I will keep you locked up in that storage cupboard forever," he joked, although Mitch was pretty sure he would go through with it if needed be. The man gave him a playful shove towards his car and simply said: "I'll always be on your side Mitch, no matter what. Remember that."

And it was at those words that any little bit of doubt or mistrust Mitch had left in regards to his teacher, completely evaporated, and he turned to the man with what were most likely heart eyes of his own. Mr L had just proved to him what his dad had gone to prison trying to prove. Sometimes people are just good for no ulterior motive other than they fucking want to be. In terms of good people, Mr L was a head and shoulders above the rest, Mitch could be certain of that now.

"I really am sorry Mr L," he apologised again, genuinely meaning it this time.

The young man gave him a wink to let him know it was all okay. "We cool now?" he asked, holding out his hand. "We gucci?"

"Yeah," Mitch chuckled at his teacher's lame attempts to sound cool. "We gucci," he confirmed with a shake of the man's hand.

_Is he really letting me off with a few words?_

"C'mon then let's get going, who knows, maybe you'll get back in time for me to set you homework." Scott groaned very loudly at that and attempted to rugby tackle the young man. Mitch wondered if either of them had any idea just how much his perception on who he could trust had been altered. Probably not, neither of them were mind readers and Mitch always had been very much in his head.

Walking towards his ride home, he suddenly realised they were forgetting about one very crucial issue. "What about Zach's car?" he asked Mr L. Honestly Mitch would feel very little guilt in leaving the thing there to rot but figured Zach was always a useful guy to stay on good terms with, even if it was purely because he had no common sense or conscience and would let Mitch get away with murder.

Mr L halted in his steps and sighed. "Let me take a look," he offered despite being eager to just get away. He peered under the hood that Mitch hadn't even bothered to shut and squinted at the same problem the two boys had located. "Huh, radiator leak, not surprising judging by this things condition," he concluded, giving the car a light kick for good measure. "Could try the whole cracking an egg onto it if we had any."

"See?" Scott elbowed him. "I told you that worked!"

_More fool me I guess. I wonder what other crazy things you've come out with have been true?_

"I almost feel like leaving it here," the teacher grumbled before getting a glimpse of Mitch's hopeful expression. Rolling his eyes in defeat he promised: "I'll have a buddy of mine come and take it away and see what he can do. It's gonna take at least a week though knowing him."

"That's alright. Thank you." Mitch didn't know how he was ever going to repay the young man for what he was doing for him today.  _Don't skip any more lessons without letting him know. That might be a good start._  And to trust him.  _I think I can do that now. I can trust you._

Shutting the hood, Mr L gave the vehicle one last disgusted glance, as if he blamed it for all his problems, and walked back over to them. "C'mon then you terrible twosome," he instructed with a beckon of his arm. "It's time to go home."

Yeah, home seemed like a good place to be right now. Even though Mitch knew he was going to have to leave again for work in a few hours and most likely have to deal with whatever mood his mom decided to throw at him - let's see, it was a Monday and for the past few Monday's she had gone out and bought ridiculously expensive and fancy clothes that Mitch always struggled to return. 

Whatever it was he had a newfound feeling that things were going to be okay. Whatever trial he came up against he would try his hardest like he always did and keep marching on; until his dad finally made his way home from the dangerous and corruption filled sea he had been sailing on for so long, and they could be a proper family again.

Having people like Mr L and Scott by his side didn't hurt either.


	41. Unwavering Trust

_No one can make you feel inferior without your consent. - Eleanor Roosevelt, This is My Story_

**Wednesday 3rd April**

Wednesday's always seemed like one of the more relaxed days, in terms of his kids anyway. It was late enough in the week that they had settled down and weren't constantly trying to catch up with each other but not too late that they were beginning to lose focus and were more enticed by the weekend than by the work he set them.

The days were getting noticeably longer too, which always increased everybody's good mood, even if it was by the tiniest amount. Jeremy didn't realise just how much his own mood was affected by the weather until he got to experience waking up to bright skies outside again and didn't have to drive home in the dark.

On this Wednesday, the first in the new month, he had already set work for his three earliest students - English for Avi and Mitch and dreaded Geography for Kevin - and they had were slowly starting to get on with their individual tasks, whilst chatting idly amongst themselves.

"I can't believe you actually drove on the freeway Mitchy! You're so cool!" Kevin brought up the taboo topic once more, even though Jeremy had specifically forbade them from talking about it. However it was hard to stop Kevin fantasizing about his friends adventures, for in his mind the teen had turned into some sort of action figure, or a type of mini James Bond who only drove piece of shit cars.

"I can't believe you drove on the freeway and got away with it," Avi remarked with a small chuckle.

"I still can't believe I let you get away with it," Jeremy decided to add.  _I definitely don't want any of the others getting any smart ideas._

Despite over a week having passed, Mitch and Scott's grand escapade was still often the talk of the class, with the other three keen to know every little detail about what had gone down; amazed when they imagined Scott sneaking into the car completely unnoticed, excited when they heard about how Mitch made it to and into the prison without being caught, and extremely amused when Jeremy recalled discovering them in their "hiding place".

The three boys laughed at their teacher's admission, with Mitch beaming the widest at him, eyes smiling with a fondness Jeremy had never observed being directly aimed at him before, one that was usually reserved for either Scott or Kirstie. "If it's any consolation Mr L, I feel a lot better because of it," he told him truthfully.

Jeremy returned the gesture. He didn't know exactly or even roughly what had passed between the boy and his father but he had noticed a shift in the boy's outlook ever since. Mitch had always been a kid who wasn't afraid to say or stand up for what he believed in, but in the past there had always been that slight bit of hesitation that came with it, that glimmer of self-doubt that showed itself when the boy was at his most vulnerable. But now it was like the fire had been reignited within him; his speech seemed more self-assured, he held himself a little taller, the eye-catching smile came more naturally.

He also knew by now that whatever Mitch presented on the outside was most likely only a fraction of the feelings he was truly experiencing. He was trying though, out of all his students he could honestly say that, along with Kevin, Mitch had opened himself up most to Jeremy; when it came to problems at home or previously deeply hidden concerns anyway.

Admittedly not all of it had been by choice and there had been tears from both sides, but now that Jeremy knew about their problems he could help more, he could understand and he could be there for them. At the start of the year the teacher had certainly not been expecting Mitch to be one of the first kids to open up to him properly, but the boy always was full of surprises. 

_Just three more hard-heads to crack in to._

Still smiling in earnest, Jeremy assured the boy. "Yeah, I know you do," he gently said, trying to look the boy in the eyes whilst simultaneously trying to swat a fly buzzing around his head, eliciting a stifled snicker from Kevin. "And I'm glad you could have a proper conversation with your dad Mitch. You deserve it."

The young teen let out another short laugh of wonder and shook his head slightly. "I can't think of any other teacher who would think of it that way."

"Well that's because they're not extremely irresponsible individuals who let fourteen year old boys get away with driving on the freeway."

"That's because they don't understand," the teen said decidedly.

Jeremy thought back to that day. The day when he had earned Mitch's full trust. All the way in the car he had gone over in his head again and again about exactly what he was going to say the moment he found Mitch, and fingers crossed Scott too, but when it came down to the wire and he had to open his mouth to speak, emotions had taken over and he'd just found himself blurting out something he couldn't even remember now, before just hugging the two as tight as he could.

_Kevin should have been there with his phone. I'm sure he would have taken a picture and Mitch's face was absolutely a picture at that moment!_

"What did he say to you exactly?" said eleven year old asked, leaning forward on his desk in his curiosity. Jeremy was going to tell him to stop pestering the teen as a purposeful distraction from his geography but Avi did it for him.

"Don't be so nosy," he chided the younger boy.

"He just told me he was proud of me and stuff," Mitch replied, giving the youngster the satisfaction of hearing some sort of answer.

Kevin's face lit up at the good news. "And?" he continued to quiz.

Mitch pulled a face at him. "And mind your own business," he gave the hint to Kevin that he'd heard all he needed to and despite being curious himself, Jeremy wasn't concerned about knowing the details of a very private and personal conversation between a boy and his dad. Mitch was happy with the outcome and that was all that mattered.

"Glad things worked out for you Mitch," Avi echoed his thought, gifting the younger boy with the warmest of smiles.

"Thanks Avi," Mitch replied with a wry grin. "And thanks for agreeing to stop Scott coming after me, even if you never got the chance to actually do it." The two boys shared a laugh relating to something Jeremy was not in the know about.

"Kid's too smart for all of us," Avi chuckled.

Mitch agreed before turning his attention back to Kevin. "Talking of smart I never really did thank you properly."

"Me?" the boy queried in surprise, eyes wide like he was worried he was about to get in trouble. "For what?"

"For encouraging me to visit in the first place," Mitch whispered but Jeremy, who was only pretending to write down lesson plans, heard all the same.

_What's this I hear? It seems the story has a different beginning to the one Kevin described to me._

"Shh," the youngster interrupted Mitch urgently. " _He_  doesn't know everything." Comically, Kevin's whisper voice was almost as loud as his normal talking one.

"Have you been a naughty boy Kevin?" Jeremy spoke up, raising his eyes from his desk to the shifty child.

"No," Mitch broke in, cheeky smile still on his face. "He's been just great," he said, giving Kevin a wink.

"Hmm, anyway enough talk about this, I thought we put this topic to bed last week."

"But it's just too good a story to leave untouched."

"Avi," he warned. That boy held more power than he realised when it came to influencing the younger ones.

"Yeah yeah," the teen conceded with a roll of his eyes, thankfully changing the topic eventually. "Did you guys see the baseball game last night?"

"Yeah!" Kevin exclaimed excitedly.

Mitch held up his hands, declaring, "And this is when I remove myself from the conversation.

The four of them carried on doing their work and making small talk to make the time pass by quicker and first period was nearly over by the time Jeremy was greeted by his next student.

He'd gradually started accepting that although Scott's overall attendance and grades were higher than they'd ever been, the boy's arrival time was not going to improve any time in the near future.

As he was alerted to the youngster's arrival by the door crashing open, he turned to find a slightly different Scott to normal. The boy often looked rushed and slightly frazzled whenever he barrelled through Jeremy's door but today he seemed extra disjointed, his breath a little quicker, his blue eyes slightly glossed over.

"Scott?" Mitch was instantly on amber alert in case anything was wrong. "What's the matter?"

"Jenie McGowan," the blond simply responded, his voice matching his out of breath state, as he leaned against the door, perhaps to prevent whatever he had encountered from entering behind. 

Mitch relaxed at his answer. "Is a very good dancer," he added onto the boy's two words, creating a sentence that gave Jeremy a vague image of a small blonde girl, Scott's age, who always seemed to be walking around the school with a different prized trophy in her hand each week.

"Yeah..." Scott agreed, regaining his composure a little; enough that he could walk over to his desk. He still seemed in a state of shock though.

"Anything else to add Scott?" Jeremy asked, a question which had the youngster turning bright red at an alarming rate.

"She did uh..she umm," he stuttered, jaw becoming slack as his cheeks flushed.

"Ah, now I see," Mitch told him sarcastically, although judging from the blond's reactions Jeremy thought he had a glimmer of an idea about what had caused this.

"She started talking to me by the lockers about dancing and how I should start because she thinks we'd make good partners..." Scott halted in his explanation, sitting down in his chair and resting his head in his hands, hiding his face from the others.

"So you're taking up hip hop?" Mitch quizzed, getting out of his own seat so he could crouch down on the other side of Scott's desk in interrogation. "You trip over your own feet at least once a day," he pointed out.

"No," the younger boy replied. "I said I'd think about it but then...then..."

"Yeah...?"

The blond let out a big sigh and buried his head even further into his hands. "She said she wanted to try something and she put her hands on my shoulders and...and did, y'know," he hesitated for a few seconds, obviously hoping someone else would say it. When it was clear no one was going to he let out another shaky sigh and blurted out in horror: "The tongue thing!"

That revelation gained two very different reactions from his friends.

"Eww!" was Kevin's first and only very loud thought on the matter, while Mitch couldn't have looked happier, leaping up from his crouched position to wrap an arm around the embarrassed boy's shoulders.

"Aww, you had your first kiss Scotty, I'm so proud of you!" he cooed, elevating Scott's embarrassment even further.

Jeremy struggled to keep his own snickers to a minimum at the look of utter disgust on both of his youngest's faces.  _That's pre-teen boys for you...I imagine I would have had a similar reaction at their age._

"But she was a girl!" Scott protested after his best friend's appraisal.

Avi nodded seriously, murmuring, "That is very common I've noticed," before sharing an amused glance with Jeremy.

"You gay too then kiddo?" Mitch asked.

"I-I-I'm not anything!" the boy cried out defensively. "I don't wanna kiss nobody on the lips!"

"What?" Mitch smirked and bent down to whisper in Scott's ear. "Not even me?" he asked in a seductive tone Jeremy felt slightly uncomfortable hearing. _I don't want to know where he's used that before._

"Go away!" Scott yelled as the older boy attempted to kiss him on the cheek, jumping from his chair and dashing around the classroom, the teen in hot pursuit. Both were laughing uncontrollably after a while.

 _And there's Kevin with his phone, snapping away_. Jeremy wasn't sure whether he should be concerned about the fact that the eleven year old probably had quite an extensive photo evidence collection that highlighted just how much mayhem went on in his class. Certainly nothing to add to his showreel.

Ending the two's game just before it turned into a tickle war, Jeremy calmly requested for them to return to their seats. "Mitch please refrain from molesting him and start your work." After a few more giggles the two did what was asked of them, neither wanting to annoy their teacher too much.

"That's disgusting," Kevin repeated, still in shock at what Scott had been subjected too.

"No it's not," Avi countered.

"How would you know?" Kevin shot back teasingly and this time it was the oldest boy's turn to blush. A swift glare from Jeremy had both boys shutting up however.

_They can argue about Avi's love life after they've completed their work._

Focusing his attention back to his own pile of papers, Jeremy was distracted once again by someone clearing their throat, and raised his head to realise Scott was just sitting quietly with no work in front of him.

Beaming as his sheepish teacher made his way over to him, the youngster asked in a sing-song style: "What am I doing today Mr L?"

"Science?"

"Ughhh," the boy collapsed onto his desk. "I don't like that," he mumbled.

"You told me you did."

"Yeah when we do experiments with the blue liquids and stuff, not all this writing boring stupid stuff."

"C'mon," Jeremy encouraged, nudging the text book towards him. "I may have some peanut butter M&M's under my desk if you finish it all," he casually mentioned, gaining the result he was hoping for.

"Well why didn't you say that in the first place?" the blond exclaimed, picking up his pen and hurriedly opening the book.

Jeremy smiled.  _Bribery is underrated in my opinion._

The rest of the morning passed by with no one else being kissed unwillingly and all the kids remained well behaved and in good spirits. During first break Avi and Mitch lost themselves to Spotify, both searching out new and vastly differing music, while Kevin flopped onto the beanbags with a large bag of candy and a book on the human skeleton. Scott meanwhile devoured all the peanut butter M&M's in record time and set to bouncing around his teacher, seeing as everyone else was preoccupied.

"Mr L, Mr L! Watch what I can do!" he proclaimed as he got down on the floor and proceeded to balance himself horizontally in the air using just his hands. "This is what I was trying to do before Jenie cornered me," he explained, voice straining. "It's called the turtle! Rudy at the shelter taught it to me!"

Giving the blond the benefit of the doubt as to why he was messing around instead of heading straight to class, Jeremy both laughed not only in amusement at the funny position the boy had got himself into but also in delight upon hearing about someone from the shelter who Scott was obviously on good terms with. The boy rarely spoke about his "home" life any more and when he did the practiced words of "It's fine" and "Everything's awesome!" just didn't cut if for the young man these days.

_Whoever you are Rudy, I like you._

"I don't know where you get all this energy from you little rascal," Jeremy pondered as the blond attempted a headstand but ended up just flipping all the way over.

"But Kevo's way more energetic than me Mr L," the boy replied, panting in his fallen spot before leaping up and running to jump on top of Kevin. 

 _Yeah but he is actually fed regularly and sleeps in a proper bed_. You wouldn't have suspected there was any upset in the young boy's life, although sometimes he wasn't sure if the kid purposefully tried to act extra hyper just to try and convince them all he was okay; but most of the time it was impossible to tell.

"I think you've got him beat today Scotty," he called out while the youngest two play fought amongst the beanbags, bringing Avi and Mitch out of their music-filled daydreams.

"Anyone know where Kirstie is?" Jeremy took the chance to ask now that none of them had headphones on. The girl's attendance was good but she did have the habit of missing half or a whole day at times, due to what she put as "family affairs", but usually by now she would have texted either Mitch or Avi to alert the teacher of the fact.

"I was texting her last night and she didn't say anything about not coming in."

Kevin looked up at Avi's admission. "You text Kirstie at night?" he queried, a mischievous glint in his eyes.

The older boy shrugged nonchalantly. "Once I've gone to bed and she's still out," he paused and held his hands out in an uncertain manner, "doing whatever in the city."

"Avi talks to Kirstie in bed!" Kevin spat out instantly, his grin as wide as possible.

"That's like sleeping together!" Scott chimed in.

Avi turned to the two boys on the floor. "We're just friends guys," he insisted.

Mitch fake coughed into his hands, letting out the words: "With benefits", earning him a frustrated glare from the older boy.

"What does that mean?" Scott asked.

"Oh!" Mitch gasped dramatically. "Finally something he doesn't know about yet!"

"Boys please," Jeremy ordered as Scott scuttled across the carpet to try and tip Mitch's chair over. "Did she seem okay last night Avi?"

"Yeah," the boy went on, only slightly put out by the younger three's teasing. "I mean she was quite bored, that's why she was texting me," he admitted. "But she seemed alright enough...from what I could tell without hearing her voice anyway."

"He loves hearing her voice," Mitch joked again, causing giggles from all three.

"Boys!" Jeremy chided. "Ignore them," he said to Avi.

"Hmm," the teen murmured, glaring at the others, who had all began to make kissing sounds. Mitch in particular was blowing them in Avi's direction.

 _Easier said than done I guess._  He couldn't exactly stop them though, it was just a bit of harmless banter between friends, the type Jeremy and his own buddies would have engaged in during high school, especially if it had to do with a girl.

With the boys laughter still ringing through the room, suddenly the tides on the happy morning turned and, with absolutely no warning at all, the classroom door burst open to a very upset looking Kirstie. The girl was in a great hurry but she barely made it three steps when a hand reached out and grabbed her harshly by the arm, dragging her backwards.

"Release her this instant!" Jeremy barked out the moment he saw a fellow teacher lay his calloused hand on his student; the other kids all standing to attention, ready to fight for one of their own.

His demands were ignored; the overweight, middle aged man still holding onto the struggling girl with an iron like grip. "What sort of teacher do you call yourself?" he sneered at Jeremy with no explanation. "Can't keep your eye on one pathetic girl."

Jeremy took a deep breath. No matter how much he wanted to rage at this insolent man right now he knew he had to remain calm to set a good example to his kids.

As steadily as he could manage, he addressed the teacher - Mr Jacobson he believed - in his most diplomatic voice. "I don't know what you think gives you the right to come into my classroom, disrupt my class and manhandle one of my students but I can tell you right now Sir," he took another deep breath. "You are in the wrong on every conceivable level," he finished, fixing the man with steely brown eyes.

Despite not leaving the man did release his hold on Kirstie, although by now she appeared to be in such a state of shock that she didn't even bother moving, a totally different girl to the one he was normally presented with; meek and timid, her head hanging low. "Lewis isn't it?" the man spoke to Jeremy in a condescending manner. "Support teacher," he snorted with ridicule. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"It doesn't matter," Jeremy bit his alternative answer back. "I'm  _their_  teacher. Kirstie come here," he held out his hand to the girl who had now begun to shake in distress slightly. She moved to him slowly, like she was afraid the other man was going to pull her back any second. Once she was behind Jeremy she stopped again, head still aimed directly at the floor. Avi was over in a flash to wrap a comforting arm around her.

Jeremy wanted nothing more than to comfort her too but there was still a rather angry man stood in his doorway. "Now that we're calm, can you tell me why I shouldn't report you?" he questioned, eyes narrow.

The man scoffed. "Report all you want, it's not me who's gonna feel the heat," he taunted before pointing an accusing finger at Kirstie's back. "Not when this girl is making money supplying to the school."

"I'm not." Even though Jeremy couldn't see Kirstie's face it sounded to him like she was crying.  _I've never seen her cry before...Never really seen her show any form of just sadness at all._

"Oh why bother lying girl?" the intruding teacher called out to her and the younger man clenched his fists tightly. "Do you really think we don't know what kind of scum you and your family are," he continued.

" _You_ –," his oldest student let out an almost feral like growl and took a step forward.

"Avi," Jeremy gently but firmly implied the boy should back down. Getting involved wasn't going to do them any favours. Allowing his distaste of Jacobson to seep slightly into his tone, he asked "And where Sir, is your proof?"

"My proof is in the fact one of my students, Brooker, one of my best, was found yesterday off his head in the boys locker room!" The man raged, specks of saliva flying from his mouth onto his shirt. "Can't get him to give any names but he says he got it from a fellow student." He sent more glares Kirstie's way. "And we all know who is the Syndicate's number one on that front," he growled.

"It wasn't me," Kirstie eventually raised her eyes and Jeremy was immensely saddened to see that they were threatening to overflow.

He tried to send as much comfort in the way of a smile as he could and was grateful Avi was still stuck by her side. "There's dozens of kids at this school who supply, surely," he insisted to the other man. There wasn't a shadow of a doubt in his mind that Kirstie was entirely innocent in this situation. He didn't know all the ins and outs of Ridgeway High but it was a school that served thousands of kids!  _Why has he instantly singled Kirstie out?_

"But none as bad as that girl there." The man was starting to sound like he had some sort of personal vendetta against the shaken teen, as he carried on with his tirade. "I wanted you kicked out years ago, but the principal at the time was shit scared about the consequences for some reason." He let out another condescending laugh. "Like  _your_  kind would care if you got expelled or not, it's probably some sort of ritual for you kids."

Jeremy couldn't remember ever being more furious with another human being.  _This is what she meant; that one day when she told me kids like her are never given the benefit of the doubt. She was born into a bad family so that automatically means she is bad as well._

Swallowing back a stream of foul language he had piling up in the back of his throat, he made it clear to Jacobson who was in charge here. Screw the man supposedly being his superior. "It's become very clear to me that your accusations are nothing more than that," he declared, vowing: "As Kirstie's teacher I can  _and will_  vouch for her innocence in all of this. Now please," he uttered, pointing an authoritative finger towards the doorway. "Leave."

The man looked in disbelief for a moment, in shock that another much younger and much less experienced teacher was talking to him in such a way. But then he quickly blinked the shock away and huffed, turning his back on Jeremy and the kids.

He paused just before he left, turning back to Kirstie with one final message. "I don't care who your father is. I'm seeing that you won't make it till the end of the school year," he threatened. He didn't get the chance to say anything else though, as Avi, having finally heard enough of the man's jabberings, marched straight over to him and slammed the door forcefully in his face, the crash echoing around the silenced room 

"What an asshole!" Scott burst out once they were all sure the teacher wasn't returning with more hateful lies.

"Yeah!" Kevin agreed. "What a meanie!"

Scott tilted his head at him. "You can say asshole," he told the older boy, almost daring him too.

"I don't wanna. My grandparents wouldn't like it."

"But it's just a word," the blond argued.

"Shh," Jeremy shut them both up. Neither seemed to realise how upset Kirstie was, both unable to see what Jeremy and Avi were witnessing. _I don't think I would have thought it either if I couldn't see her with my own eyes._ Kirstie; strong, hard-headed, nothing affects me and I can cope with anything Kirstie, was crying.

The girl who had built up such high and fortified walls, was having them crumble around her. Massive droplets ran down her red cheeks no matter how much she attempted to blink them away, and tiny cries were escaping from her quivering lips. Never before had the girl looked so insecure, so vulnerable, so... _just so young._

Kirstie was mature, wise beyond her years and yet at that moment she was just a kid. A young girl who was going through so much and was in real need of some comfort and reassurance.

Luckily, there was one particular individual who fulfilled that role straight away. "Hey, don't listen to him," Avi pulled her into a hug. "We know none of that stuff was true," he hushed.

"Teachers," she whimpered into his chest, while the younger boys hovered nervously nearby. "They all have some kind of vendetta against me, always have."

"Kirstie," Jeremy placed a hand on her shoulder and the girl quickly spun around to face him, reddened eyes pleading. 

"I don't know what I can say to make you believe me!" she cried out.

"Kirstie," he leaned down to meet her gaze. "You don't need to say anything Kirstie, I believe you."

The sentiment was there but he wasn't sure if she fully took what he was saying in, as she shook her head and wiped at her eyes vigorously. "It doesn't matter anyway," she mumbled to herself. "He's right, no one else would care if I get kicked out." A dark look crossed her features. "My family probably wouldn't even notice."

"You're not leaving," Avi said firmly, taking hold of her hand while also turning to face their teacher. "Is she Mr L?" He sounded confident but Jeremy could see the desperation in his own green eyes as they begged for confirmation.

For once, the answer was a simple one for him. There was a clear and direct way out of all this mayhem, and one he had no problem with taking.

"Don't worry," he reassured the still quivering girl. "I'm going to sort this mess out," he promised.

Blinking rapidly, Kirstie gave him a perplexed look. "How?" she worried, unable to accept it outright.

He gave her another comforting smile, before divulging: "You're not the only one whose parents have...let's say a certain influence over the school."

"What you been keeping from us?" Mitch spoke up eventually, as he also came and linked arms with the girl on Kirstie's free side.

"My mom...is ex-principal of Fairview Academy," Jeremy hesitantly revealed, not sure how that information would be received.

Avi raised his eyebrows. "That's a pretty famous school, my father almost sent me there." He may have been mistaken, but Jeremy was sure those words came out extra bitter. No time to dawdle on that now though.

"It's where  _I did_  go to school," he told the students. "But anyway, my mom is kind of good friends with the board of directors, the people who decide how much funding certain schools get." He gave a small shrug, like it was no bother at all. "If I mention to her about this I know she won't let anything unjust happen."

The kids were silent for a brief moment while they took this new fact about their teacher in and Kirstie calmed her breathing pattern back down to a steady one, before leaning her head against Avi's shoulder.

"Why didn't you tell us you were education royalty sooner?" Mitch questioned with a smirk. "Think of what we could have got away with."

"You'd do that for me," Kirstie almost cut the younger boy off, as she stared at Jeremy in disbelief.

Mitch gave her a nudge. "Uh, he drove for like two hours after me so this is nothing girl," he joked, managing to get a small smile grace her lips.

"What else would I do?" Jeremy half laughed. "I can't have men like him tarnishing a good students name." He paused, and then said seriously. "You're a good student Kirstie. A good person. We all know that."

Jeremy could see those words meant a lot to her but also realised that it was the first time Kirstie had probably ever been told that. Jeremy was always telling her she wasn't as bad as she thought she was but he'd never just straight up told her she was a good kid.  _No one ever would have. That's not who her family wanted her to be._

But the downright truth was that she was a good kid, a great kid. She was an extremely bright and quick-minded girl who was enormously protective of her friends, and who was just trying to make the most of the world she had been born into.

Not a bad kid at all. Just a bright flame that was always being overshadowed by the darkness that surrounded her.

While his words settled in Kirstie's mind and their little group huddled even closer, Jeremy watched as a glimmer of optimism reached her eyes for once.

"We all love you Kirstie!" Kevin proclaimed loudly, stretching so he could place his head between Kirstie and Mitch's shoulders, grinning like a lunatic.

"Yeah even when you do call me a rat," Scott added, wrapping his arms around the girl's waist and smiling sweetly up at her.

They all laughed while the girl blushed and laughed along with them, wriggling free of all of their grips except for one. "You guys are stupid," she muttered as she leaned into Avi's arm. They all knew that was her own way of saying she loved them too.

Catching her gaze, Jeremy winked. She froze and then gave a small nod in return. It was a gesture of thanks for the unwavering trust he had placed in her; fully deserved in his opinion.

_You're not a bad kid and deep down you know it._

"This might be a strange segway, but speaking of rats..." They all turned in confusion at Avi's strange sentence starter.

"Yeah?" Mitch encouraged him.

Psyching himself up, the teen spoke like he was reading a well rehearsed speech. "My father's taking a little business trip over Easter and I'm gonna have the house to myself. It's a big place and it can get quite lonely so..." He paused, the anxiety slowly creeping into his voice. "I would like to cordially invite you all to my house over the break," he declared, quickly continuing, "no need to bring anything, all expenses provided. I can have our chef stock up on whatever you'd like."

Mitch let out a short laugh. "He has a chef."

"Well then," Avi looked round nervously at them. "Don't leave me hanging guys," he begged jokingly, but there was a clear waver to his last word.

Kirstie answer first. "You already know my answer," she told him quietly.

"True," the boy smiled, instantly relaxing now that one person had replied. "But I like to make these things official."

The girl smirked and turned to look him in the eyes. "Fine," she sighed, only pretending to sound annoyed. "Mr Kaplan, I, Kirstin Maldonado hear-by accept your invitation to your humble mansion."

"Do we all have to say that? Cos I've forgotten it already."

"No Kevin," Avi said patiently. "So you coming too?"

The boy began jumping on the spot. "Of course!" he cried out, throwing his arms into the air in excitement.

Avi chuckled in fondness at the typical behaviour. "What about you midget man?" he asked the youngest, who had been unusually reserved so far. "Got space in your schedule?"

Scott shifted from foot to foot. "Yeah," he replied slowly in a voice that Jeremy immediately recognised as his 'I have a question' one.

"If you come to my house first you can have a lift with me," Kevin offered. "You too Mitch."

The young teen shrugged his shoulders casually. "Who says I'm coming?" he said, before rolling his eyes at their questioning looks. "Yeah yeah, I'll be there. Be nice to see how the other half live for a change."

"Do we have to dress like rich people?"

"Do I dress like a rich person Scotty?"

"...No."

"Well there you go then." Avi tapped the back of the boy's snapback. "It's just gonna be us. No one's there to judge you."

Jeremy smiled contentedly while all the kids began talking at length about when this house trip would take place and also trying to guess just what Avi had at his mystery house. Mitch put forward the idea of a sex dungeon while Kevin speculated about the possibilities of the teen fitting a go-kart track into his garden.

Kirstie was still more quiet than usual but she joined in with the chat and laughter, and she seemed in much more relaxed spirits.

_And it's gonna stay that way. I won't have anyone accusing her of being someone she's not._

Happy now that things had settled down again, Jeremy made to return to his desk so he could carry on with his paper work. However a short cough stopped him halfway and Avi's voice querying, "Mr L?" had him turning back round.

"Hmm?" He was confused as to why they were all looking at him in a certain way.

Avi nodded his head towards him. "I'm still waiting for your reply."

_My reply? What...oh right um..._

"I can't," the teacher stuttered. "I uh..."

Mitch folded his arms and shook his head in wonder. "You wouldn't have thought he could come out with great speeches would you?"

"It wouldn't be appropriate," Jeremy tried to explain why he shouldn't be hanging out his students during his vacation.

"Mitch. Driving. Freeway."

"Mitch. Shut. Mouth."

"Don't come as a teacher then, just come as a friend," Avi persuaded, turning on the charm that could come so naturally to him at times. "You're not that much older than me...Jeremy."

_Woah! We're not heading down that route._

Scott laughed as Jeremy's expression morphed into a one of horror at hearing Avi call him by his first name. "I forgot your real name was that!"

They all giggled at their teachers horrified face. "We'll stick to Mr L then," Avi agreed. "But we'd like you to come too, you really expect me to keep this lot under control by myself?"

They didn't need him there. These kids were perfectly capable of taking care of themselves, especially when they were all together.  _I guess that means...they want me there simply because they want me there?_

 _Despite everything Mitch is right,_  Jeremy decided. The relationship he had with these kids had surpassed any normal teaching one, appropriate or not, and it now simply felt natural for him to want to spend his free time with them as well, outside of the school walls.

"I'll see if I can get the minivan again," he let them know, confirming his answer. "Might as well drive you all there if we're all going."

There were more celebratory noises from everyone and jumping around from Kevin. "Woo we're going on vacation!"

"I don't think you can go on vacation to a house that's in your own city," Mitch pointed out.

Avi, who's grin was the largest of all, slung an arm across the two younger teens shoulders. "You haven't see  _my house_  yet," he told them. "I know I may be biased but," he paused and grinned even wider. "It's pretty damn cool."


	42. The Lives Of Others

_A person is, among all else, a material thing, easily torn and not easily mended. - Ian McEwan, Atonement_

**Tuesday 9th April**

She hated her life.

Plain and simple really. The night before had been the epitome of that fact. During Easter break most kids would be heading home to prepare to go on vacation with their families start or perhaps get a head-start on their homework if they were more study focused. They would be raiding their snack drawers, or perhaps be over at a friends house most days or working a small part time job. Normal kids, normal lives, normal overdramatic teenage problems.

Not Kirstie though. That wasn't her life. Men like  _him_  had made sure of that.

For as long as she could remember her life had been doing what men had told her to, doing what she had to in order to survive in her world; violent, harsh and unforgiving. It didn't matter if she wanted to go and watch a movie with a friend, there was work that needed doing for the family. There were deals to be done and money to collect and assholes to intimidate. You didn't get to have a say in it.

That latter one she had actively been trying to cut down on recently. No longer did she want the reputation of being the girl who might turn on you at any moment, the crazy badass kid who was too much of a wild card to hang around with. She had never used a firearm before, but had always felt the need to carry one around, for self-defence purposes more than anything. But now she outright couldn't bring herself to even hold a gun in her hand. It just felt unnatural, dirty.

Stupid really; she had grown up around deadly weapons and the people who utilised them, but eight months with four crazy kids and one even crazier teacher had caused a re-evaluation of her priorities, forcing her to consider the type of person she wanted to be in the future.

So instead of the regular extortion and lookout jobs she had began taking on roles that, if you were to use more industry standard terms, could be described as more admin related rather than manual labor. She kept count of her family's stock, helped keep tabs on potential new recruits and any cops that might be easy to bribe, but all while she was doing this, something was formulating...

A plan, or more just a few notes jotted down in her head, of how she could escape the fucking mess that was her life, because she had come to a firm decision recently, that she could no longer accept her fate as a gang family kid. Not is she could help it.

Running away was the easiest option, a grab and go with as much cash as she could carry. But that type of act would almost be defeating the purpose of trying to become a better person. No...there had to be a better option than that. What that was though, she had no idea yet.

At least she had someone who she could use as a prime example of someone she strived to be like. Avi was the type of guy who people would look at and think  _"There's a fine, well brought up young man, he's going to go places."_  That was her goal: for people to look at her and not just think, _"what a waste of space"._

The most recent example of people thinking that was still painfully fresh. She knew she would be lying to herself if she wasn't worried about Mr Jacobson and his viscous threats and she knew she would be kidding herself if she didn't admit she was embarrassed as hell for breaking down in class. Embarrassed not humiliated, like it definitely once would have been, that was the kind of affect those wonderful human beings had on her. Maybe one day she would build up the courage to tell them so.

Also, another opinion that had been firmly cemented in her mind recently was that Mr L was truly one of a kind. She couldn't remember a single adult who had ever had such a profound affect on her life. She didn't know who her mom was, the woman might be long dead for all she knew or cared, and she had been raised by a number of adults, none of whom a strong bond was ever formed. It was saying something that her papa, a man she had long since lost any affection for, was the closest thing she'd had to a parent.

And then of course Avi was typical in his genuine concern and affection and, in a rare moment for him, anger. Kirstie didn't think she'd ever heard the boy speak so much without pause. Or so passionately come to think of it. He had been a bit of a hound dog for the rest of the day, refusing to leave her side and constantly asking if she was okay. She wasn't okay, but she was a lot better than she would have been without her friends surrounding her. It was kind of scary really; just how much she was beginning to rely on them as her support network.

And today was the day. Today was a day she had been looking forward to, at the same time as being apprehensive about it ever since the question had first been posed to her on that shed roof. Honestly it couldn't have come at a better time after the night before and... _him_. The recent memory still made her shudder. Glancing at her face in the mirror she was pleased to see she managed to look presentable despite having barely slept the night before.

Her makeup complimented her features perfectly is she did say so herself, and she supposed she ought to be thankful that the bruises were safely hidden away. She'd just have to be super careful today and make sure neither Scott or Kevin tried to tackle her, or remind herself not to flinch if Mitch or Avi gave her a hug. She wondered how Avi was always able to give nothing away when he'd been on the receiving side of a fist. Practice she figured, as bleak as it sounded.

Lifting the side of her shirt up slightly she couldn't help but wince at the dark blue and purple blotches marring her skin. It had happened late last night, just as she had been walking back to her own apartment, a hand had reached out from out of nowhere, catching her off guard and pulling her into a darkened corner.

He had been a big guy, someone who she vaguely recognised from a scar down the side of his face, but she couldn't remember a conversation ever having passed between them before. She hadn't even had a chance to shout at him for taking her by surprise when his alcohol infested lips were pressed roughly against hers, and his large hands were fumbling about in places they had absolutely no right in being.

"Hey girl, what you doin'?" the creep had said after Kirstie had angrily pulled away, choosing to try and quickly make an escape rather than giving the asshole a piece of her mind. She prided herself on being tough but with a guy as big as this even she found herself intimidated.

"Not paying any attention to you," she had muttered as she quickly scampered further down the hall. Not quick enough though.

"Oh, is that so?" the beast of a man had growled, yanking her back towards him, his fingers digging into her arm.

"Get off me!" Crying out had done nothing to deter him however and if there was anyone nearby, they certainly didn't come rushing to her aid. Biting down very hard on the man's fingers until she could taste a coppery liquid in her mouth had however.

"Ahh!" he had yelled out in anger, shoving her forcefully into the nearest wall, so hard it made her head ring. "Fucking bitch!"

She hadn't waited around to see if he had anything else to say, running full pelt towards the stairwell and running up so many flights she looked like someone who had completed a marathon afterwards. Someone who had completed a marathon while crying and wearing makeup, a look she didn't bother correcting as she had stormed angrily to her papa's apartment.

After hearing her story, the man had obviously been angry. He might not have loved her but to him, this was an act of disrespect against his family. The man would be dealt with. But when asked why she was so upset he had simply shook his head at her whimpers.  _"Grow up."_  That was what she had been told. Grow up. Behaviour like that was to be expected so she better get used to it.

Never in her life had her worthlessness as a living, breathing human being been more apparent. She was simply a useful tool to have around.

Today Mr L had picked her up a few blocks away from the East Rises main tower complex, like he had done with her and Scott previously, although this time apparently Scott informed her he'd travelled to Kevin's earlier so they could both be collected from there, the location of his hideout remaining ever secret.

She kept herself to herself on the journey there, sitting next to Mitch who had his headphones on, rapid drum beats emitting from the speakers, lost in whatever thoughts he had floating around in that mind of his. She knew there were a lot, both pleasant and very unpleasant, some far too dark for most teenagers to handle, but she liked to think that the light was slowly outweighing the dark. His eyes certainly seemed to shine a little bit brighter these days.

True to character, Kevin and Scott were both sat near the front so they could talk to Mr L like the more people person kids they were, the two quizzing the young teacher on his love life; asking how many girlfriend's he'd had, if he fancied anyone at the moment and whether or not he wanted to get married.

Conversation wise it had been fairly unrevealing, with the teacher explaining that he'd only ever been in one previous long term relationship and that there was nobody at the moment he was seeing. Not a surprise considering he had to deal with them the majority of his time. Kirstie was often amazed the young man had time for any sort of social life at all. He did admit he wanted to get married though, even if it wasn't for quite a while. The idea made Kirstie smile.  _Whoever he does end up marrying will be a very lucky lady._

Scott and Kevin had continued to pester the driver with what their brains deemed witty comments until Mr L decided he'd had enough of the quizzing and opened up the floodgates by asking the youngest boys their opinions on what they thought people did on a first date.

Kevin was at that age where quite a few boys would begin to think about getting girlfriends - most of them purely thinking about them for show-off purposes of course - but the young boy was still firm that finding a girl was the least of his worries. Still, his answer was rather charming.

"You have fun and get to know each other and then maybe say that you like each others hair or eyes or breath or something," he informed, like he was reading out from an instruction manual.

"Actually Kevo, on most first dates you're meant to just tell each other lies so that they think you're cool enough to go on a second date," Scott had put in, with an air of understanding which Kirstie wasn't quite sure was learned of just pretend. "And then you keep on doing that until you're married, like you have to tell your wife she looks pretty even if she looks like a truck."

Kirstie smirked at the bray of laughter from Mr L, wondering just how much of that bleak but hilarious statement resonated with him.

"How do you know who to marry though?" she asked, leaning forward over the seat so she could see the funny, thoughtful expressions on both boys faces.

After brief consideration, Kevin once again provided a very forthright and sweet answer. "No person decides who they marry before they grow up," he said with conviction. "God decides all the way before, like back when you're born, and then you find out later who you're stuck with."

Beside him the youngest let out sounds of discomfort. "I'm not ever gonna get married. If someone asked me to marry them I'd run home and play dead," Scott continued on with his uniquely entertaining look on life. "And then the next day I'd call up all the newspapers and make sure they wrote about me in all dead columns." 

He spoke the last sentence in between a fit of vicious coughs that had the other two sharing worried glances and Mitch pulling his headphones off in concern. That was the newest thing to worry her about her high rise buddy recently. Kirstie knew from word-of-mouth that many shelters were not the best when it came to heating or just acceptable living conditions in general, and as such coughing was a common noise that she now associated with him.

Heavy coughs that sounded as if his whole throat and chest had been scratched raw, and sometimes ones that caught him off guard causing him to jump himself. It would have been funny if it wasn't so troubling. Of course ask him and he would just brush it off with a laugh or a dumb comment like he was allergic to them or something.

She gave the blond's shoulder a squeeze once the coughs had finally died down. "Okay?"

"Yeah," he leaned back, looking up at her, and grinned cheekily. "I got..." he paused, leaning into her face to open his mouth so wide you could almost see his tonsils, and made a croaking sound, "a frog in my throat," he finished, laughing as Kirstie pushed him away from her.

"You're so disgusting."

Their drive continued on, the traffic getting less and less dense as houses were replaced by trees and the noise of the inner city died away. They were on the very outskirts of the city when Mr L arrived at Avi's street.

Everyone was doubtful straight away. "Are you sure this is the right street?" Kevin had asked the moment they set eyes on the neighborhood they had found themselves in.

They all knew Avi was what you would call "not bad off" when it came to his financial situations but the street they had just turned onto, a quite road with very few but extremely large mansions on each side, could only be home to the elite of the elite.

_Abbott Kaplan is certainly not just your average businessman then._

"This is the address Avi gave me," their teacher said as he slowly pulled up to a set of giant black iron gates. "And that's the house number," he referred to the large golden plated numbers placed imposingly on the metal bars.

Like some scene in a movie, the gates swung open, obviously triggered by some motion sensors invisible to the naked eye, and they drove up the long driveway to what was to be their mansion for the day.

The youngest especially was in awe of the building before him, jaw to the floor as he stared out of the window with massive eyes. "Holy shit."

"Language Scott," came a stern voice from the front.

"Sorry," the boy murmured, clearly slightly apprehensive, just as they all were from staring at something that cost more money than they could ever imagine. "Holy cheeseballs," he corrected himself.

Kevin tapped his finger on the glass a few times in excitement. "That's like where the Queen of England lives!"

Beside her, Kirstie heard Mitch let out a laugh of amazement. "Forget about how the other half live, this is like how the one percent live," the teen mumbled.

Kirstie too started up in wonder as Mr L parked up nearest the front door. The exterior walls were white, a white so pristine it may well have been washed everyday, and punctured by gigantic bay windows, equally spotless and shiny. Even the doorway itself was something to behold; massive mahogany double doors with a brass iron knocker, all encased under a stone archway, the white pillars planted firmly into the marble steps that lead up to the entrance. It looked like a home belonging to a Hollywood star, not a seventeen year old kid from Ridgeway High.

The two youngest were gone like a flash the moment the minivan juddered to a halt, sliding the door open and racing wildly to the front steps, pushing and shoving each other in their bid to win the sprint like a pair of hyperactive puppies.

Kirstie followed at a much more leisurely pace, wanting to take in every last detail of the scenery. "Did you know he lived in such a life of luxury?" Mitch asked her as he hopped down beside her, shielding his eyes from the sun as he peered up at a building which was at least forty feet tall.

She shook her head. "Not by this much, no." This was just surreal.

"Imagine," the younger boy scoffed, "never having to worry about a thing."

Narrowing her eyes, Kirstie reminded Mitch that this was a boy who hadn't even had the courage to speak out loud until a few months ago. "Don't imagine that his life is so perfect."

"Look at this place Kirst," her friend threw his arms out wide, spinning around in awe. "I bet he's never had to worry about  _anything_  before."

She raised an eyebrow at his antics. "You really think that's true?"

He paused in his spinning and considered it. "No," he decided with a smirk. "Avi's alright. He's not stuck up or anything like a lot of these people can be." Bouncing back over to her, he reached up and put a skinny arms around her shoulders. "Don't worry I'm not gonna be picking fights with your man," he whispered.

" _My man?_ " Since when had Avi become hers?

"Nothing girl, nothing," Mitch teased, that annoying grin still on his lips, dimples clearly showing as he relished in her annoyance.

Kirstie aimed a kick at him. "I preferred you when you were moody and quiet," she muttered as he yelped and leapt away, straight into Mr L, giving the man the same cheeky grin as he gazed up apologetically.

Before any more arguments could be initiated however there was another cry of surprise coming from their younger friends and the three turned in interest as the huge wooden door creaked open, Kevin and Scott both standing by it like they had been caught red handed in the act of a crime.

"Uhh..." Kevin stared open mouthed at the now ajar entrance.

Scott was quick to shift any possible blame onto his friend, blurting out "Kevin did it!" before anyone could tell him off.

"I didn't!" the other boy hastily retorted. "It was already open!"

Walking over to the surprised youngsters, Kirstie gave the door a once over and came to the conclusion that despite it's grandeur and authentic appearance it very clearly had some kind of wireless remote setting, allowing it to have swung open seemingly unaided.

_Useful for when your butler's busy I guess._

"Ooh! It's a spooky haunted mansion!" Mitch howled out, leaping from foot to foot in some kind of strange dance, waving his hands about. She rolled her eyes. The kid got more quirky by the day.

"Why are ghosts always wearing old clothes?" Scott asked, tentatively following the teen inside. "Why don't they ever look like Will Smith or someone?"

"That's ghost fashion: ghost law," Mitch told him seriously. "You have look like like you're from the 1800's otherwise you don't get to have fun scaring people."

They shared another moment of total silence as they entered what was supposed to be a hallway but could have passed for a  _grand_  hall. A giant, ornate chandelier hung from the high ceiling, casting a faint patterned shadow across the room. In front of them, more dark wood furniture complimented many expensive looking pieces of artwork and ornaments and below them, a richly woven rug - one that Kevin had seemed to be about to wipe his shoes on but thought better of it - stretched out down the hallway to rooms unknown.

You could have heard a pin drop, the only noise coming from their hushed breathing and the quiet ticking from the grandfather clock standing to one side like an alert guard.

"What's that?" the silence was broken as Kevin pointed further down the hall, to a cabinet with a white envelope placed invitingly on top.

The two youngsters instantly made a beeline for it. "It's got my name on it!" the blond cried out the moment he was close enough to read the lettering.

"And mine!"

"Hey, I found it first!" Scott scowled as the paper was snatched from him.

"But  _I saw_  it first!" the older boy mocked, holding the envelope teasingly above his head, all too convenient really for their teacher to just snatch it out of his hands to read himself.

"This clue is shivering, somewhere very cold, with milk, eggs and ham," he delivered the cryptic message in a mysterious voice, smiling as Scott and Kevin listened eagerly. "Find it - do as you're told!" he finished, gesturing for the two boys to lead the way.

After scuttling up and down the hall Kevin called out to the rest of them. "The kitchen, it's over there!" he pointed under another wooden archway, before charging off in the said direction, Scott hot on his heels.

"C'mon little kiddies, let's play a game," Mitch jokingly rasped out like some horror villain, skipping along beside her.

Kirstie rolled her eyes again but she too was definitely curious as to what they were up to.  _What does Avi have planned?_

Showing off as it turned out. Or at least that's what it felt like as the teen's written clues lead them from one magnificent room to the next, the granite topped kitchen was larger than some of the apartments Kirstie had slept in, and looked as if it had never seen a meal cooked in it's life, considering how spotlessly clean it was.

After hurriedly moving them on from that room after Mitch dared Kevin to try and fit inside the range oven; what followed was a tour of, as Mitch named it "The Lives Of Others". A dining room with a table that could seat thirty guests, a living room complete with piano and pool table and another one with the largest TV any of them had ever seen.

Mitch was clearly impressed despite his snide remarks and Kevin and Scott were having the time of their lives running around, deciphering the clues and directing the others to their next destination. Typical of Avi really, Kirstie had thought, he always liked to make sure the youngest boys were kept happy. She found the image of him thinking, writing and placing all these clues both hilarious and endearing. She just wondered when he was going to make his own grand entrance.

_Maybe there's a throne room somewhere and he'll be sat there being fanned and fed grapes by his servants._

The latest section they had been lead to was a very long corridor on the... _fourth floor?_  Kirstie wasn't so sure, she had lost track a while ago. There was nothing really to show up here, and was more of a short cut to what Kevin had read out as the "final destination". On the walls were many pictures of a man who was familiar to all of them.

Avi's father seemed to have the eerie habit of smiling robotically identical in every photo taken of him. Whether it was posing with some other businessman or at some charity event, the man remained expressionless in every scene. Avi was nowhere to be seen in any of them.

At one point Mitch and Kevin both paused to examine on of the largest photo's, perhaps the only one which showed the man displaying some sort of happiness as he held up a massive check of a hundred and twenty million dollars. Kirstie walked over to have a quick glance also but after briefly scanning the photo the only bit of information she gleaned from it was that it was to do with something called 'The Emerson Deal'. It sounded rather dull.

"That very interesting to you?" she queried to the two boys, both of whom were still staring at it like they were at the zoo again watching the tigers.

"No," Kevin quickly answered, shaking his head for good measure.

Mitch echoed the boy's reply. "Nope."

Kirstie frowned as the two turned in sync and briskly walked away.  _Weird_. She glanced again at the photo but still the only odd thing she could say about it was the fact Avi's father was maybe smiling for real in it.

Their exploration continued as they headed back to the first floor, somewhere near the center of the house, and Kevin picked up the final clue leant against a vase.

"I'm Harry Potter?" he read out in confusion before his quick-thinking mind leapt into action. "Under the stairs!" he exclaimed pointing to a suspicious door placed under the nearest staircase, half the size of your average door.

Dashing over, he stepped back to allow the youngest the honor of opening up their final "room". Either that or he was just scared to do it himself.

After placing an ear to the wood to check if he could hear anything, the blond grasped the handle and swiftly pulled the door open. "Avi!" Scott squealed with laughter as he discovered their elusive friend hiding inside in the dark like a kind of stair gremlin.

"How long exactly have you been in there?" Kirstie asked once the laughter had died down and the oldest boy had pulled himself up from his seated position.

"Longer than I'd care to admit," he told them with a sheepish grin. "So?" he questioned, trying to sort out his hair that had got into a slight disarray whilst he'd be cramped up in the tiny storage room. "Do you like the place?"

"It's not bad," Kirstie replied, reaching up to sort out one particular lock of hair that was refusing to cooperate. "I'm still waiting to see the garden so I'll know once and for all if you have a statue here."

She realised afterwards that Avi probably had no clue she'd been fantasizing over this statue ever since she'd spied it on the photo he'd shown to Scott, but if he was surprised by her speculations he didn't show it.

"Well as it happens that was exactly where I intended the tour to go next," he explained, giving them a little bow and ducking back through the hobbit sized door. "Follow me," he called out to them.

They all shared confused looks over why they were being lead under the stairs and whether or not Avi was feeling okay. They indulged him some more however and did as was instructed. Mitch was at the front but he paused before the dark entrance. "In there?" he asked uncertainly, probably worried about any possible spiders inside.

A hand shot out from the darkness, grabbing the teen's elbow and pulling him inside, the boy only just managing to duck in time to avoid bashing his head. "Just follow me," came the muffled order.

Following in second place, Kirstie reminded herself to stoop down also and entered the pitch black space. At least once they were through the doorway they could stand up straight again, although Kirstie was still wary of banging her head on some surprise obstacle.  _You'd think with all their money they could afford a light in here_ , she thought as she felt her way along, Scott and Kevin following behind, neither of the two having to worry about ducking to get in.

Ahead of her, she could hear the two other teens exchanging sarcastic comments. "Oh and mind your ste–" Avi began the sudden warning before there was a cry of shock and another muffled scuffle. "Step," he finished and Kirstie could practically hear the grin in his voice.

The others crept forward even slower now, having been pre-warned that the floor might disappear beneath their feet at any given moment. Behind them Mr L appeared with his phone torch on, making Kirstie want to slap herself for being so dumb and not thinking of that.  _And that's why he's the teacher._

Her annoyance couldn't last long however, at she caught eye of the sight the dim light was illuminating. "Wow thanks for the warning," Mitch drawled out slowly from his position in Avi's arms, having begun to fall down a set of stairs within the stairs.  _Inception!_

"Avi why is there a massive black hole under your stairs?" their teacher asked, peering into the ditch the two boys had found themselves in as Mitch wriggled free and dusted himself off.

"It's not a hole, it's a tunnel," Avi explained, green eyes lighting up like a little boy's. "This is an old house, like really, really old," he said, giving the trap door above him a tap for good measure. "I've been told that back in the day, the master of the house had this tunnel built so he could...liaise with his mistress, who used to work in the gardens."

Mitch grunted out a noise of approval. "Smart."

"Yeah...well until they got caught in the act by his wife and she shot them both," Avi continued.

"Ah, such a lovely history to the place," the younger boy remarked, grabbing hold of Scott and Kevin's hands and dragging them down with him. Once they were within the tunnel Avi flicked a switch on the wall and a few bright white lights dotted every ten feet or so along the ceiling flickered to life.

Kirstie took in the sight before her.  _This definitely doesn't fit in with the rest of the decor._  Avi had not been underplaying anything when he'd called it a tunnel. It was literally just that, a tunnel. Huge stones made up either wall and the ceilings and floors were reinforced by cracked grey concrete, but it was far from the lavishly furnished hallways of the main house. It wasn't a direct route either, the tunnel twisting and turning back on itself and the floor was uneven in places.

"Isn't this kind of a security issue, having a tunnel that leads right into your house? I don't see any...security cameras or motion sensors or whatever people who live here have."

"The best ones you don't see," Avi responded to Mitch's observation. "But there is a little trick to this that you  _will_  see," he added, deliberately remaining coy.

"How much further?" Kirstie asked after her fifth time of losing her footing and having to grab onto the older boy to steady herself.

"Nearly there," was all he said in reply and Kirstie would have shoved him if he wasn't her main source of security.

It felt like they had been walking forever - with Mitch constantly squeaking when he thought he spied a rat - when Avi finally drew them to a halt by another large door, one that seemed almost as thick as it was wide. Waiting some more while the boy grunted and heaved the massive door open, they were all surprised to find themselves greeted not by sunlight, but by a great amount of ivy. After a lot of rummaging however, and a huge amount of complaining from one teen, they could all stand free, the garden eventually revealed to them.

In the section they could view now, bonsai trees lined the perfect lawn in their wooden boxes. In the center there was a pond as large as a small lake with flowering lily pads and a wooden bridge that crossed the middle so you could look down at the koi carp. The flower beds were a riot of May color and even on closer inspection Kirstie could see they were weed-free.

Turning back to admire the ivy jungle they had just walked through Kirstie was interested to see how this one side of the house was basically coated head to toe in it. The ivy stem was like a tree trunk. It must have been at least twenty years old. It had sent it's tendrils into the walls and peeled off much of the white paint. She wondered if you took it down would it do the house more harm than good? Was it now part of the structure?

Whatever it was doing, it was a far cry from the formal front they had first driven up to. There was something quite symbolic in it she thought, on the day Avi, one of the most private people she knew, was opening up a part of his life to them.

"How on earth would you find this?" Mitch asked, pointing back to the door which had now disappeared behind the curtain of dark green.

He was right, Kirstie realised. This wall of the house was impossibly long and there were no obvious visual markers to indicate where a door would be. Having to get through all the ivy would take long enough to start with; you could spend a good half hour just searching five feet of wall.

Avi smiled and folded his arms. "Exactly."

And no matter how many begs of: "Tell us Avi, please!" he revealed nothing. After however, once the others had wandered off to explore a bit, he walked over to Kirstie, who was still examining the ivy.

"Turn around," he spoke softly, guiding her with his hands until she was facing out towards the garden. "What do you see?" he asked.

"Grass," she replied dryly. She didn't know what his game plan was here. "And flowers...and Mitch and Scott annoying the fish," she added.

He chuckled quietly before leaning in closer, a glint in his eyes. "Look up."

She sighed. "Trees," she told him. But then it caught her attention. "Wait...there's something in the gap..." she squinted, trying to make out the shapes against the bright sunlight.

"It's the Bream," Avi divulged, "tallest mountain around here. Was one of the few landmarks people had to go by a few hundred years ago." He moved behind her so he could place his fingertips on each side of her forehead, bending down so his own head was level with hers. "You line up that gap in the trees with that mountain and you'll know where the door is."

He gave her a happy smile, one which she returned, albeit slightly nervously, a question building up in her throat. "Why are you telling me this?" She hoped it wasn't one of those, 'I've told you a secret, now you tell me one of yours'. Guys in the past never offered anything for free.

The boy before her considered this carefully, like the answer was not a simple one for him to give. "Only me and my father know about the secret to finding this door, and that is both comforting and terrifying at the same time," he spoke honestly, she could tell it was from the heart in the way his words always became more restricted whenever he mentioned his father. "I just wanted to share it with someone," he said with a wistful smile. "Someone I could trust. I mean I trust them as well of course I do...but it's just," he shrugged his shoulders with a heavy sigh, unable to express such a complicated mix of emotions.

"It's alright," Kirstie let him know. "I get it." For a guy who hadn't felt comfortable expressing laughter when she had first met him, she was grateful he had told her so much. She could understand most of what he meant anyway without him having to say the words out loud, maybe because she often felt the same way. She trusted the other four with her life but there was something about revealing a vulnerable side of herself that just wouldn't seem fair if she did it to them. Like they wouldn't be able to handle what she threw at them no matter how much they cared for her.

With her and Avi though, there was something they shared that neither of them could quite explain or had even spoken about with each other; and yet Kirstie just knew that the teen felt the same way. That there were unknown demons the other had that meant they could handle what the other threw at them.

The two shared a lingering gaze, basking in the delight of being understood with no words or actions needed. It was quite a wonderful feeling.

"Kevin, careful!" the unmistakable tone of their teacher's "on the lookout for mischief" voice had them both turning to see the eleven year old stood very happily amongst the flower beds. "Look, touch them gently, they're very delicate," the young man instructed as the youngster carefully stepped his way out.

"Maybe you should take some Mr L, then you could impress a lady with your pretty flowers," the boy teased once he was back to grassland.

"You're welcome to take some if you wish Mr L," Avi offered. "We rarely keep count of them."

The teacher blushed. "I'm good for now," he mumbled, giving Avi a tiny unimpressed shake of his head.

Laughing amongst themselves, the four or them rejoined their other friends, who were in the middle of a conversation with a tuft of extremely dry grass near one of the lawn lights, it's blades now brown from the neglect of water.

"Hey Scott," Mitch spoke up as he saw the others approaching. "Show them what this patch of grass would sound like if it could talk."

The blond puffed his chest up and let out a very hoarse exclamation. "Phaaaa!" It was probably the dumbest impersonation she had ever seen but for some reason it was also one of the most hilarious, and the others seemed to agree, laughing until there were tears in their eyes and they were out of breath.

 _What have we come to?_  She wondered, wiping her eyes dry as they were finally calming down.  _We're laughing at fucking grass._

Doubled over from his laughter too, Scott glanced upwards before standing to attention like a pointer dog, his gaze firmly in one direction. "Statue!" he shouted excitedly, pointing to an area about thirty feet away.

Kirstie tilted her head as she studied what the blond had spotted, and discovered that indeed there was a lump of sculpted stone poking out above a hedgerow. She looked to Avi for confirmation but he just shrugged and motioned for them to follow him.

For no reason at all, Kirstie found her heart rate speeding up slightly as they approached the statue. It was just that it had been such mystery in the back of her mind, that now she at last got to see what it was it did fill her with anticipation. All eager, they rounded the final hedge and came face to face with...well, it was definitely a statue alright.

"Oh...wow," Mitch was the first to speak up before spluttering into fits of giggles once more, staggering about as the cackles shook his body.

"Yep..." Avi said, popping the 'p' and giving Mr L only a half apologetic look as the teacher covered both of the youngests eyes as fast as he could.

A bit pointless really, Kirstie thought, as there was no way either of them had missed the view they had been presented with. The view of which was a very large, ornately chiseled statue - or rather fountain - of a mermaid sat in her pool, tail draped over the edge and upper body exposed bare for all to admire; not to mention two very conveniently placed water pipes that squirted water periodically into the fountain below.

Having no official authority over what the two boys were allowed to look upon, Mr L soon lost his hold on Kevin on Scott, who dashed tactically in opposite directions, both with different levels of bewilderment plastered on there faces.

While Kevin was performing an amusing act of glancing back and forth at the large stone breasts every second, Scott recovered quickly enough for another idea to formulate in his head, one which Avi read with ease.

"You can climb it if you want to Scotty," he said, ignoring the horrified yelp from their teacher.

Scott didn't need any more encouragement for a good climbing opportunity, to him this saucy statue was as good as any old tree and like a little lemur the blond scrambled up the statue, placing his hands and feet in some...questionable holds.

"Oh I am definitely taking a photo of this," Kevin pointed out, taking out his phone at the same time as Mitch. "Let me guess, I'm not supposed to tell my grandparents about this part," he remarked, giving Mr L a deadpan stare.

After scaling one side and pausing for some cheeky photos at the top, the youngest began his descent on the other, stopping as some water gushed out of the mermaids pores.

"Please drink from it," Mitch begged. He had not stopped laughing the whole time.

" _Scott_ ," Avi stepped in this time as the blond seriously considered the request. "Think about what you're doing," he reminded the boy.

"...Yeah," the youngster decided after a moments thought. "That's one photo I don't want you taking Kevo!"

Mitch tutted at the older boy. "You ruin all the fun," he complained.

Avi just shrugged cockily. "My house, my rules- ow!" he cried out as a foot was suddenly met with his face, after having moved himself beside the mermaid just incase Scott took a tumble towards the water.

"Oh! Sorry Avi!" the blond apologised profusely as Mitch's cackles started up again.

"No, no. Don't worry," Avi reassured him, rubbing at his cheekbone. "My face shouldn't have been there," he joked, grabbing hold of the nine year old and swinging him back onto the ground.

Having run out of laughs for the time being, Mitch took the opportunity to ask the question Kirstie herself had been thinking about for the past five minutes. "Is there a reason your father chooses to have a giant naked mermaid in his garden?" he asked, as casually as if he were asking Avi about his favourite television show.

The elder boy frowned and scratched at his temple in thought. "You know what," he decided, "I think he lost a bet a long time ago."

Mitch let out a half laugh. "Rich people," he murmured in wonder, before spinning around. "Didn't you say you had tennis courts here or something?" he asked, giving Avi a taunting glance. "Or are we common folk not allowed to tread on that hallowed ground?"

Avi narrowed his eyes at the obvious mocking. "Only if you accept a challenge," he told the younger teen.

Now it was Mitch's turn to cross his arms in suspicion "What's that then?" he quizzed.

"Play me."

After a brief moments hesitation where Mitch was most likely evaluating just how terrible he was when it came to sport of any kind, he gave the other boy a wry grin. "Any chance to aim a ball at your face Avi, any chance."

"It's the only chance you'll have. Not like you could reach me normally."

"Okay, okay just set the wedding date already boys," Mr L interjected before it turned into a full on sass match. He shared an exasperated smile with Kirstie, who had just been about to shout at the two boys to shut up anyway.

 _They're both as bad as each other_. They knew exactly what they could say to wind the other up and although Avi always claimed Mitch picked on him, he wasn't entirely the innocent party. They both needed to just accept the fact they were two completely different people from two completely different socio-economic backgrounds, just like they all were, and stop with the petty remarks.

At least Mitch's comments had one benefit. They were shown to the tennis court, the same one Avi had supposedly "broken his finger" at the day before he had decided to come into school and speak for the first time.

It was a hot day, and while Avi and Mitch got out the rackets and balls Kirstie allowed Kevin to decorate her hair with flowers he had collected from nearby.

"You look very beautiful Kirstie," the boy told her as the wove the stems into her locks. She smiled. If only all men were like Kevin, the world would be a much purer place to live in.

After only twenty minutes it became very clear that Mitch was unable to even hit the ball over the net, let alone towards Avi's grinning face. "Ugh! Why are you so much better than me?" he cried out, throwing his racket to the floor and wiping a hand over his sweaty forehead.

"Because you're built like a daffodil," the older teen retorted, aiming a volley at the wall behind Mitch, causing him to jump.

"That's it, I give up," the teen moaned, dragging his feet over to the side and collapsing onto the dusty clay. "I'm just going to lay down here and, y'know, die."

"My turn!" Kevin leapt up the moment the court was free. "I challenge you Mr L!" he shouted, running over to claim Mitch's fallen racket and pointing it at his teacher.

"Ah well I always have fancied myself a bit of an Andy Murray of America," the young man admitted, standing up to face his opponent.

"Andy Murray. I would," Kirstie noted to Avi as he sat down beside her, cheeks flushed from his match.

"What? A sullen Scotsman?" he queried Kirstie's choice in lover.

She looked at him suggestively. "Don't tell me you wouldn't."

The boy contemplated this relationship. "He'd have to buy me a lot of barbecue first," he reckoned. "Ana Ivanovic though," he smirked, forming an "ok" sign with his right hand, right before they both looked up as the youngest came and sat down next to them, folding his arms as he judged his other friends gameplay.

"When professional tennis women play tennis, every time they hit the ball they go UGHHH! And then they sit down and eat a banana," he stated out of the blue, as if that were a kind of tennis law.

Avi looked fixedly at the little blond boy sitting next to him. "I love you Scotty," he remarked casually.

The youngster shifted and wrinkled his nose. "Ew," he responded simply, causing both older teens two share a look of amusement.  _He picks up more of Mitch's mannerisms every day._

Shutting her eyes and leaning back on her hands, Kirstie allowed the sun's rays to warm her skin and relaxed into a state where all noise drifted into the background.

"You look nice by the way."

She smirked. Even in her meditative mind set, the low bass of the compliment still found it's way into her ears.

They stayed in the warmth of the afternoon sunshine, a rare hour of total relaxation for many of them, except maybe Scott, who was trying his upmost to teach Mitch to catch a tennis ball from more than an arms-length away.

"Just hold both hands together like this," he demonstrated. "Oh my God he's hopeless!" he cried out, marching off as Mitch somehow caught the ball and then let it simply roll away from his hands.

"Whatever," Mitch shot back, completely unconcerned by his lack of motor skills. "I'm done here. Where to now my lord?"

"Lunch?" Avi suggested.

"Now you're talking my language!"

"Before that," Mr L put in before he lost them all to food. "I understand this might be putting everybody on the spot a little but I've been having talks with some of the big money spenders at school, and if you'd all like to," he paused and gave them all a hopeful grin. "There's an opportunity for us to go on a little Easter camping trip in just over a week. Sorry it's such short notice," he added, "but I only managed to finalize it last night."

The reaction was immediate. Everybody liked the sound of this idea very much. Any chance to spend extra time with one another in a carefree atmosphere was always to be jumped at.

"And we wouldn't have to pay?" Scott checked, blue eyes wide with a yearning to go on what would probably be his first proper vacation.

 _Actually it would probably be mine too_ , Kirstie realised. She had travelled out of the city before, but it had always been as a lackey to some member of The Syndicate, she had never travelled before to simply go and have fun.

"All expenses covered kiddo," the teacher assured. "How about it, fancy a break from sleeping on the floor to sleeping in a tent?"

Scott laughed and readily agreed, promising he would get his mom to write some form of permission slip that he could drop off at Kevin's house.

"Meh," Mitch had replied, characteristically underplaying his excitement, but they all knew he would be dying to go on a vacation. It had been a while since he'd had that type of freedom too.

"I'll have to say it's an educational trip. No way they'd let me go otherwise," Kirstie let them know. If they knew she was spending her days sleeping out in the woods rather than earning the family money, she would never hear the end of it.

"Likewise," Avi muttered beside her.

"So it's a yes?" Everyone let out sounds of confirmation and the young teacher appeared just as excited as the two youngest boys. "Great! I'll let you know more information by the end of this week," he promised, smiling widely as Kevin enveloped him in a huge hug.

"You're the best!" the youngster proclaimed as the man ruffled his hair.

Avi clapped his hands together, regaining all their attention. "Right then," he started, "I think you'll find there is quite a fine spread in the nearest kitchen," he said, pointing to the nearest open double doorway. "You are all welcome to help yourselves," he told them, although there was really no point as most of them had charged off the moment he had pointed in the right direction.

Walking together slightly slower behind the rabble, Avi bumped his shoulder gently into hers. "I guess we'll be seeing quite a bit of one another this Easter then."

"I guess we will be," she replied, returning the gesture. "I better get my own tent, I'm not sharing with any of you lot."

"Yeah, I'm kind of used to my own space."

"You're certainly not lacking for it."

There was a pause and then Avi blurted out anxiously: "I hope you didn't think I was showing off earlier."

Kirstie raised an eyebrow at him. "Weren't you?"

Another pause and then a wry smile crept onto his face. "Maybe a little," he admitted. "He's fun to wind up."

"Mmm, just be wary," she reasoned. "That kitten has sharp claws."

He gave her a salute. "Message received and understood." She still wasn't sure if he was serious or not. She just hoped they would calm down with the bickering sooner rather than later; there had been enough arguments between the five of them, they were all argued out.

"I'd love to live in a place like this," she announced, changing the subject. Nowhere could seem more perfect to her at that moment. Avi's family may have been as shitty as hers but at least he had a home he could be proud of.

"What? A city slicker like you?"

"Well maybe not live here, but...I dunno, we all need a break now and then, don't we?"

"Definitely," he agreed, sounding tired all of a sudden. Perhaps the stress of this day, a day he had probably been nervous about for so long, was catching up to him.

As they walked side by side back into his house, the echoes of shouts and laughter could be heard from the nearest room, along with the beats of some music Mitch had probably started playing.

"Sounds like the party's started in there," Kirstie said as she pushed open the door to reveal their four comrades filling plates high with every food imaginable and dancing like fools to one of those songs Kirstie hadn't heard in years.

"Meet me at the ice cream truck, I'll buy you an ice cream!" Scott shouted, bouncing up and down in front of Mitch.

"I'll whip out my drumstick that will make your eyes gleam!" the other boy carried on, before placing a carrot stick in his mouth and sucking on it seductively, earning him a slap on the arm from Mr L.

Kevin's turn and he bellowed out the words: "Lick it up quick before it melts on the floor!" while adding five chicken wings to his plate.

"I got it! Uno, dos, tres, quatro give me some more!" Even their teacher was getting in on the impromptu sing-along.

"Ok!" they all chorused, breaking into some ridiculous dance moves.

Avi's face was a picture of utter confusion beside her. "What on earth are they singing?" he asked, backing away from the scene as if he were afraid the craziness was catching.

"Wow, you really didn't have a childhood," she joked.

He didn't really have a reply for that. Mainly because it was probably true.

"Aren't we going in?" she asked as he shut the door on their insane friends.

He gave her a strange look, biting the bottom of his lip in a nervous manner. "Is it alright if I show you something first?" he queried, eyes darting further down the hallway.

"Okay..." She could see no reason as to why not and allowed the boy to take her by the hand and lead her on another miniature tour around his mansion.

The room he took her to was kept behind two great oak doors, ones that creaked softly as he pushed them open, and Kirstie found herself in awe once again the moment she entered. "Wow." The ceiling must have been twenty feet high. Designs of fruit and flowers carved into the moulding and a giant chandelier glistening with thousands of crystals would just be scratching the aesthetic surface of the room.

A ballroom. As fairytale-like as they came. Not that she could claim to have much experience in them.

Walking slowly into the center and gazing up to the richly painted ceiling, one depicting some kind of ancient summer woodland, she span around slowly, only lowering her head when the form of Avi standing by awkwardly caught her attention.

"Too much?" the boy asked, searching her face for any sign of disapproval. 

She had none to give. If this was showing off it was the best kind of showing off. "No...it's amazing," she whispered and a relieved grin appeared on the other teen.

"I thought you might like it. Never been too fond of the room myself but that could be because whenever I've been in here it's been full of the biggest assholes you could imagine."

She smiled in compassion. That was another factor they had in common, the list of assholes they knew was far too long for most people to cope with. "I didn't know my papa had been invited here," she muttered.

"Would you care for some music?" Avi asked, picking up a nearby remote and turning the speakers on, while motioning for Kirstie to go and select a song from the sound system in the corner.

It was a bit of a long walk considering the size of the room, but when she got there she knew exactly what she was looking for.

"Bobby Darin, a great choice," Avi complimented her as the dulcet tones from 'Beyond The Sea' began playing.

She nodded. "I have this memory," she began slowly, "from when I was really small, maybe I was even a baby, but I just remember someone singing it to me. No idea who it was, but it made me feel safe." It was perhaps her last and only memory of feeling completely at ease.

Avi padded over to her, his footsteps tapping quietly on the wooden floor, expression slightly doleful; maybe he too struggled to remember a time with no worries.

"I can't imagine you socialising in here," she told him once he was right in front of her, smiling teasingly. "Do you wear your ball gown?"

"I didn't say anything about socialising. It's just been a duty I've had to fulfil." He gave her a bashful look. "I've danced though," he admitted.

"You?" Kirstie laughed incredulously. "Dance?" Avi and dancing were two separate entities that did not merge together very well in her head.

"Hey, I've been well trained," he mentioned, holding out his hand, green eyes roguish. "Care for me to show you a few moves?"

It was such an old fashioned thing to say and yet with the music from decades past playing in the background and the setting they were in, it felt so natural. Still, both were snickering as Avi placed her hands in a traditional waltz formation and did the same for himself.

"Stand on my feet and I'll kick you," Kirstie cautioned as they began to step around the floor, the older boy guiding their every move. He hadn't been lying when he said he'd been well trained but Kirstie found it amusing to think of the boy having to dance with women three times his age in order to act the good host's son.

As they moved around the room talk went from Avi's house to other plans he had made while his father was away - which included going to watch a basketball game with Kevin - and then unfortunately onto Kirstie's Easter vacation so far. At that point she was unable to keep the dour expression off her face and Avi noticed instantly.

"Do you want to tell me why you're so upset?" he questioned softly as he felt her body tighten up.

"Who says I'm upset?" she retaliated, defence barriers automatically raising.

"I noticed the moment I saw you today," he divulged, studying her face. "Something's happened and it's made you upset."

She lowered her gaze. "Maybe you're over thinking things Avi." She hadn't meant it to sound so harsh but the boy pretended to take it with a pinch of salt.

"It's alright if you don't want to talk about it. That's not something we do, is it?" he muttered, slowing his movement down so they were almost stood still. The initial song had long ended and now a cover of Cyndi Lauper's 'True Colors' was playing;  _Don't be afraid to let them show, that definitely doesn't apply to us._

Suddenly a thought came to Kirstie - or more an observation - that they were both hiding from each other right now, even in each others arms they were still hiding. The ache on her ribs from the bruises could still be felt no matter how gently Avi tried to hold her and she wondered if he was hiding similar kinds of injuries under his own clothes. It wouldn't surprise her.

She could see now, all that hope in his face. It had always been there really, since the first day they had met. She recognised the signs when a guy fancied her. It had often been a clear message to keep her distance from them until their interests lay elsewhere. And yet with Avi it had become so much more. She had never felt closer to someone who she hadn't even kissed or slept with. How had one boy gained so much of her trust in less than a year?

She could see now...she could see in those green eyes of his what he wanted. And it fucking scared the shit out of her. She wasn't ready.

"Avi I..." she stuttered, unable to stop tears springing to the corners of her eyes. "I can't be who you want me to be right now."

"I don't want you to be anybody," he countered, own face beginning to crumple. "I just want you to be here with me, right now."

"Avi..." Did he realise how much her was asking of her? If he did then he thought she was a lot stronger than she was.

She would have loved to answer all his wishes and make him the happiest guy on the planet, he deserved it so much, and for some reason he seemed to think she deserved him...but all that hurt, every time she had been forced against her wishes to do stuff for men who saw her as nothing; every slap, every belittling comment, every look that told her she was worthless, it didn't just vanish away at the click of a finger and a few magic words.

But on the other hand, for the first time she wasn't been forced to do anything, she could have just left it at that and he would have allowed her to. But she wanted...something.

Staring up into his face, tears now falling down her cheeks, she asked him one very simple yet vulnerable question, a request she had never made to anyone before.

"Hold me?"

The pain she felt from her bruises was nothing compared to the immense surge of love Avi offered her in the bear-like hug. An embrace that was purely for her, a moment of comfort she had asked for and he had given, wanting nothing in return but her acceptance.

"I'll always be here for you," he whispered into her hair, voice shaking all over the place.

"Your hearts beating fast." She was so overwhelmed. She barely made the dumb remark sound coherent.

"You don't have to hide around me," he continued and Kirstie felt a damp patch beginning to form on her neck. "You know I'd never take advantage of you."

"I know you won't," she assured him before crying out: "I'm such a fuck up." Why couldn't she just be normal? Why was she finding everything so, so difficult?

"No," Avi spoke firmly, finally pulling away from her and wiping his eyes, placing both hands on her shoulders. "You're a human being, don't you dare ever let anyone make you feel anything less."

"I do like you Avi...like  _really_  like you," she let him know, gaining a small laugh from him.

"And I really like you too," he said wistfully. "I don't want anything to feel forced or unnatural. This is your call." There was no question attached to the end of the sentence but the implication was all there.

_He doesn't want me to feel pressured._

He had deliberately left it open ended so it was entirely her choice.

_Say yes._

Her eyes widened as her brain began whispering it's encouragement to her. Her brain had never really had much of a say in this kind of situation before at all.

_Say yes._

A few words. That was all that was needed. A few words that could mean the start of something brand new, for the both of them.

_Say yes._

She took a deep breath, her heart beating just as fast as his had. "I'd like to try it...us I mean."  _Close enough girl, close enough_. Such simple words and yet they were some of the toughest she had ever had to say.

The way Avi's face lit up in surprise showed her he had not been expecting that answer, so used to being knocked down by everyone in his life it had become second nature for him to accept it. "You really mean it?" he breathlessly laughed, smile as wide as ever. "Is that a commitment Kirstie Maldonado?"

She smirked, his happiness already rewarding her with joy. "Yes Avi Kaplan," she replied, blinking rapidly.

"Thank you," he responded, still in slight disbelief, hugging her once more. It was the most excited response that type of commitment had ever received.  _Anything seems special I guess when you're deprived of it._

This time he didn't release her, the two softly swaying as some instrumental piano piece was played softly through the speakers.

 _I've still got flowers in my hair_ , she realised, while admitting: "I've never been like this with anyone before." As if he didn't already know.

"Me neither."

"I'm sorry Avi." She wished she could have offered him more at that moment, but she just...she needed time, time to adjust. Only when everything was perfect and she was completely comfortable could they move on; otherwise she could see the future, her running away, too scared and scarred to contemplate she had any hope with a man like Avi.

"Me too," he replied. Sorry for what she didn't know, maybe just sorry in general, for everything, stuff that had happened to both of them that had turned them into the secretive and fragile creatures they were. "We're being watched," he lowly murmured, causing Kirstie to peek up above his shoulder.

 _Ha, talking of creatures,_  like some kind of animated rodents, their three classmates and teacher's heads were all poking around the door, one on top of the other. She couldn't see their expressions from where she was but she could only imagine the ideas circulating in their minds.

She buried her head back into his shoulder. "Let them watch. I don't care." Right now she just wanted to spend some time in Avi's arms. Enjoy the moment and worry about the rest later. That was what it was about, just being with each other, completely free from their worlds for a brief period of time, and that feeling of pure safety she thought she had long since lost slowly returning.


	43. Moving Forward

_Life's under no obligation to give us what we expect. - Margaret Mitchell_

**Thursday 11th April**

You could say what you liked about the city; with it’s high crime rates, homelessness problems and general underfunding in every area, but one thing you could not say a bad word about was it’s hospital. It was a new addition, having only been opened fifteen years ago, but it was one of the few aspects the citizens of the city could take pride in. Billions of dollars had been put into building a state-of-the-art facility, one now used by smaller neighboring cities for bigger emergencies and had attracted the attention of people in the medical profession from all over the world. It was just as well really, as the wards were full to the brim on a daily basis with people suffering from gun shot or stab wounds, or ones who had overdosed on heroine or cocaine.

A certain eleven year old was in absolute awe as a pair of glass doors slid away to allow him entry, staring up at the mammoth hospital complex was like he was embarking on a journey to a foreign planet. As he followed his guide to the correct department he couldn’t keep his eyes from wandering into rooms where doctors were sat busy typing up reports on computers or patients were having their bodies poked and prodded by nurses, some kindly looking and some who were quite frankly scary.

Even the hospital hallway was like something out of Star Trek. Everything that could shine, did shine. There was stainless steel, sleek floors and the art on the walls were all natural images in colours as bright as glacier melt-water or spring flowers. The air had a pure fragrance, not sterile, just clean. In the background music played at just the right level to give the patients and staff an emotional lift. But the best part was the ceiling, just clear and high arched. It was like standing out in the open without the risk of rain.

When Scott had told him of his visits in the past, the younger boy had made it seem like a hospital was some kind of tomb, but then maybe the nine year old just couldn’t appreciate the beauty that was the complex inner workings of a well polished machine; couldn’t understand that every single person in here played a key and vital role, that without them the whole system would collapse. Kevin on the other hand, could. He admired it greatly.

It was a welcome albeit brief distraction from everything going on in his life right now. Even though he had mostly forgiven his grandparents for their lies, he was still punishing them with the silent treatment. He and Mitch were going shopping today to get some essentials, such as air beds and a lot of unhealthy food, for the imminent camping trip. The two lived the closest together and so it only seemed natural that they should be the ones to go.

That and maybe Kevin himself had insisted on being the one to assist the teen. Any chance to get out of the house, without just his grandparents, he took. It was why he had been extra excited to visit Avi at his own house and why the camping trip had him so hyped up.

It wasn’t like they were arguing frequently at home or anything. No, quite the contrary, things at Kevin’s house had been unnaturally quiet for the past few weeks, an air of uncertainty hanging between him and his grandparents. More with his grandpa - he loved them both very much but his grandpa was just, or had been,  _the man_  - but he felt the uncomfortableness was there with both of them.

The car journey had been fine, sitting in the back with Mitch reminiscing their very recent trip to “the mansion” meant he didn’t need to talk to either of them. The only downside was that Mitch had a short appointment with Lottie in the morning, so they agreed to wait in the car for half an hour.

Very kind of them, if it weren’t for the fact Kevin still didn’t feel comfortable even sitting in the car with both his grandparents. Maybe he was being immature, but he would rather avoid the conversations and let everyone’s feelings go unsaid, than endure the awkwardness and clear the air. Sensing the unease the younger boy must have been exuding, Mitch had thankfully saved him and requested that he join him. It was a free pass, but Kevin knew sooner or later he was going to have to face up to reality, Mitch wasn’t always going to be there to help him out.

Avi had helped him begin to come to terms with his abandonment, made him realise that it didn’t really change anything, not circumstantially. He’d lead a perfectly happy life with his grandparents before and there was no reason he wouldn’t continue to. It was just that before there had always been that hope, of one day rekindling his relationship with his parents, or being able to see pride or even just happiness in their eyes when they looked at him. 

It was like his one dream and goal of eventually meeting and reconnecting with his parents was burnt to the ground. Now what was he supposed to do with his life? That had been his focus, they had been his incentive to do his best in school, to concentrate on his work even when his body was screaming at him to go and run a riot. Without such an incentive he could barely focus on anything for more than a couple of hours. That was not a quality that would serve him very well in years to come. Often times he felt so selfish for working himself up about his future. He knew he had so much to be grateful for.

Just that morning, as they had picked Mitch up from his small house, Kevin had taken in just how tired the boy looked, fumbling with his keys as he locked the door. His Easter break wasn’t much of a vacation, considering he was just using any extra time to clock in more shifts at his workplace. And then when he was home it wasn’t any sort of welcome relaxation, with him having to take care of his mom.

 _What do I have to worry about? Nothing that’s justified._  He was just a hyper kid. A hyper kid with too many thoughts jumbled up in his mind. 

 _Hopefully this camping trip will help me clear my head somewhat._  It was kind of weird when Kevin looked back on it. He could remember like it was yesterday the half conversation he’d had with a then silent Avi, their little discussion on camping trips. So much had changed since then. Never in a million years would Kevin have thought back then that they would all be going together, as a little unit. That had been back when he still wasn’t sure if Kirstie and Mitch  _liked_  him.

So much had changed…For one, he was accompanying one of those teens to his counselling.

“You can still change your mind y’know,” Mitch told him as they walked down the corridor to the waiting room. Kevin turned to see the teen looking at him with a slight concern and realised that his unnatural silence had probably been unnerving the older boy.

“Nah,” Kevin drawled, “I wanted to see what it was like. I don’t mind waiting.” Although it was true he was slightly worried he was going to end up disturbing everyones peace, and wondered if anyone had ever been kicked out of a hospital before. He smiled brightly at Mitch anyway and made sure there was a little extra bounce in his step than normal.

Mitch studied him for a moment and shrugged. “Cool,” he said calmly, giving him a small grin. “And then we’re going on a shopping trip like no other.”

Now that did actually excite Kevin. The only shopping he did usually was for clothes and groceries, both of which he loathed and commonly ended in him being dragged around town by his grandma. Going shopping with Mitch on the other hand was another story. He’d only heard second hand from Scott, but apparently shopping with the teen was more like a leisure pursuit than a task. The older boy had a knack for making it fun. Already Kevin had been impressed by the mental list the teen had recited to him in the car, focusing particularly on the parts where food was mentioned. They even had a budget courtesy of Mr L’s haggling skills with the school.

Anyway he was glad to be getting to spend some time with the older boy. He knew they weren’t the closest in the class, but that was okay, they were just two very different people. People said that opposites attracted but Kevin knew Mitch much preferred making up silly songs with Scott than wrestling with Kevin on the field.

 _Talking of wrestling, me and Scotty really need to have a proper bout again. It’s been too long._ That used to their thing, it’s what they had first bonded over, excitedly talking about their favourite wrestlers and tag teams. _He does get tired a lot now though…_  The youngest had been going through random phases recently; of going from hyper to exhausted and then back to normal all within the space of five minutes. He had even had a moment of rare anger when Kirstie interrogated him about what he’d eaten during the weekend after the boy wolfed down half the table at Avi’s house. His response was to snap at her, saying through gritted teeth that he was eating fine and that maybe they should just accept he was a small kid. No one found that easy to believe.

That cough of his still wasn’t getting any better either. Kevin had spent a whole evening one night researching the possible causes of it, but search illnesses that had coughing listed as one of the symptoms and you would get hundreds of results. It was probably just a cold though, like Scotty was always telling him. Kids got colds all the time. His friend would tell him if something was really wrong.  _Wouldn’t he?_

As long as the cough didn’t stick around to put the blond off his tests he and Kevin both had after Easter then it should be fine. Kevin had confidence in both of them anyway. The online tests were a piece of cake for him and Scott was smart despite the ‘blond moments’ he could have. Come to think of it, Kevin suspected all his friends would do well in their finals and SATs and whatever other exams were thrown their way. The school might be - to put it gently, awful - but their scheme of rejecting them to the ‘naughty room’ had actually worked out for them. Maybe that was because they had the best teacher in the world though.

As they strolled down the white corridors, Kevin was amazed with how much seemed to be going on through every door. Everyone was busy with something and there was a constant chatter in the air. He knew that about seven floors below them lay the morgue, but above ground everything teemed with life.

“I’ve never been in a hospital except for when I was born,” he told Mitch in awe as he tried to work out what the complicated ward names meant.  _Angiography…that’s something to do with X-raying blood vessels._

“Hm, it feels like a second home to me now,” the slim boy admitted, not even thinking where he was walking, his feet stepping in a particular direction out of pure muscle memory.

“I wish I had a second home,” Kevin blurted out, instantly wincing when he realised how selfish that sounded. _Shut up! He doesn’t need to hear about your stupid little problems!_

Mitch however, merely smiled softly at him. “You can’t go on dancing this dance with your grandparents forever.”

_Oh...is it really that obvious?_

Kevin let the spring leave his step. “I know.”

The boy gave him another understanding smile. “It’s alright to feel anger Kevin, I get it’s a foreign concept to you but it’s not a bad thing to be angry at them,” he noted. “You just don’t want it to linger. That’s when it starts consuming your mind.”

If anyone was to know a thing or two about dark thoughts consuming your mind it was Mitch.

“Why aren’t you mad at your dad?” Kevin asked, sounding more desperate for an answer than he intended to.

The boy tilted his head to one side, considering an explanation that would make sense. “Because I feel like I’ve held grudges against so many people in my life, and have held hate and anger inside, that I’ve got none left inside.” He sighed but it wasn’t a sad sigh, more like an exhale of relief. “Anyway the most important thing is my dad is still the same man who was taken from me three years ago,” he continued. “Maybe not on the outside but in his heart…yeah, he’s still the same old guy.”

“What about your mom?”

Now that did bring a frown to the teen’s face and Kevin regretted being the one responsible for it. “I can’t hate her,” Mitch told him after a brief pause. “I hate what she does to herself,” he murmured, staring straight ahead, his chocolate brown eyes glazed over, perhaps replaying the many horrid memories he had locked away inside. “And I hate that I seem unable to help her or convince her to seek help herself.” He shook his head defiantly. “But no, I’m not angry, she’s lost too much for her to lose my love as well.”

Kevin absorbed all this information, curiosity rising the more he was told. “Can I ask…what was she like before…y’know?”

The teen smirked to himself. “Before our lives were turned upside down?” he clarified.

Kevin nodded and the older boy’s face relaxed once more, happier memories taking over.

“She was just so…full of life,” he mused, laughing quietly. “She loved to sing, encouraged me to take lessons, and she loved to paint, could spend hours out in the city parks. And her laugh…” His smile grew, glancing at Kevin from the corner of his eye. “My Dad used to tell me he fell in love with her the moment he heard her.”

Now he was no romantic, at least not yet, but Kevin thought that was pretty darn sweet. “Do you think it’ll go back to being like that, after your dad comes home I mean?” he questioned, eager to get all he could out of the conversation. It wasn’t often Mitch was so willing to openly talk about his family life, past or present.

“Honestly? No.” The boy did not seem sad as he stated bluntly his thoughts on the matter. “Too much has changed, they’re different, I’m certainly different.” He shrugged, musing: “But that’s not necessarily a bad thing…anyway you’re skipping ahead of yourself, I’ve still got a number of years to wait until he’s out unless…” Mitch stopped himself from continuing on with whatever he’d been about to say. “Never mind. That’s not…hmm.” His sentence trailed off into silent contemplation as some unknown factor added itself into the mix.

Despite being extremely inquisitive over what it was, Kevin felt as though he’d already been gifted with more than enough of an insight into the private teen’s feelings. Changing the topic, he gave the boy a cheeky grin. “So Avi and Kirstie, they’re like…?”

“I know as much as you do Kevin so don’t bother asking me,” Mitch cut him off.

“But we saw–”

“Two people enjoying each other’s company,” the boy interjected once again. “They’re two very different people I might add.”

Kevin pulled a face at him. “So are you and Scotty.”

“I’m not looking to get it on with him any time soon,” Mitch deadpanned.

Laughing, the younger boy pointed a finger at him. “So you do admit that they like each other!”

“Of course they like each other, but teenage romance, I dunno, especially teenagers like us…” Mitch speculated. “Always filled with a bit more trouble and turmoil.”

“Well I think they’d be good together,” Kevin continued to insist, boasting, “I knew he liked her from ages ago. I found out before he even made any sound. It’s why he pushed me into that toy basket one time, because I was teasing him about it.”

“Huh,” the corner of Mitch’s mouth quirked upwards. “The more you know.”

Turning the corner the two arrived at the waiting room - or more just some seats running along the hallway - and sat down amongst the others until it was Mitch’s turn.

Kevin eyed up some photos on the wall opposite that showed how advanced the new prosthetics were becoming. All the people in the pictures were athletes of some kind and Kevin tried to think if he had ever seen an amputee anywhere other than the Paralympics. A nagging question popped into his mind.

“Y’know people with extra fingers and toes?” he asked Mitch. “What did they do before the Guinness Book of World Records came out?”

The teen raised his eyes briefly to the photos and wrinkled his nose. “They got burnt,” he answered before standing up as his name was called. Instantly Kevin could see some of the slight but permanent tenseness the boy carried within his shoulders disappear, the heavy weight being lifted for a blissful half hour. 

“They’ve got some reading material in those boxes if you want to take a look,” he informed the younger boy as he left to walk through the mahogany door labelled Dr. L Steyger and Kevin heard a woman’s voice warmly welcoming him before it shut again.

He decided to test his patience for a while, sitting as still and quietly as possible, watching the comings and goings for a bit until the inactivity became too much and he sauntered over to inspect the books and magazines Mitch had kindly pointed out. Most of it was the usual rubbish you’d find in waiting rooms; dumb stuff about celebrities or home furnishing or how to look good naked. There was one book though that did grab his attention, probably because it was the biggest one there and had a giant picture of an x-rayed rib cage on the front with the words ‘The Fundamentals of Radiology’. That was something he didn’t know much about so of course he was interested instantly.

Picking it up in both hands he strolled back to his chair, opening up the front cover, and losing himself to the words. He was on the second chapter, having just come up against a particularly long word, when another office door opened and out walked an important looking man. He was young with brown hair, wearing a shirt and tie, but he also had a stethoscope around his neck. That meant he was one of the top dogs.

Kevin’s gaze followed him as he went to the nearest water cooler, calling out to him when he was finished. “Excuse me!” The man turned and Kevin gifted him with his most polite smile. “Are you a doctor?”

“Yes,” the man replied, raising one eyebrow in query.

“Are you busy?”

The man glanced at his watch and then back to the eager boy. “No I’ve got ten minutes left of my break,” he admitted, wandering over to the youngster. “Can I offer you any assistance young man?”

Kevin pointed to the word in the book. “Can you please tell me what this means?”

The doctor - who’s name Kevin found out was Max - was very helpful and patient, explaining everything Kevin didn’t understand about this one specific part of radiology, not once dismissing the child as too young to bother talking to about such science.

“How old are you Kevin?” the doctor asked once the boy was questioned out for the time being.

“Eleven.”

Even though he had probably been expecting an answer around that age, the man’s face still shone with slight disbelief. “I’m surprised a kid your age is finding this book interesting,” he told Kevin.

The boy smiled. He got that quite a lot. “It’s cool, like, it’s really complicated but it’s cool.”

His new friend smiled at him in approval. “You’re a keen student,” he observed. “Haven’t heard many people describe my profession as cool before.”

“Yeah but it is!” Kevin exclaimed. “I’ve been watching that programme on the TV about the neurosurgeon. That guy’s amazing.”

Max let out a hearty laugh. “ _That guy_  - Ben - is my best friend from medical school,” he confessed, taking delight in seeing how ecstatic the young boy was at hearing that piece of news.

“That’s so awesome! I wish I had celebrity friends,” he gushed, bouncing in his seat.

“Ha! I think he’d be ecstatic to hear someone sees him as a celebrity.”

“But isn’t he? He’s saving lives on the TV, like Batman!”

“But his life isn’t something scripted for pure entertainment,” the young doctor countered. “It’s real life. Saving people is a doctor’s day job.”

Kevin thought hard about that.  _Yeah…I never really looked at it that way._  Seeing anything on the TV always made it seem fictional or scripted, but how could you script a life-saving operation? It only made the whole thing seem even cooler and he let Max know.

“I hope I can do something that important when I’m older.”

The man smiled. “What ideas have you been having?”

“None.” Kevin shrugged. “I’m someone who people say can “go in many different directions”, he explained, holding his fingers up to make air quotes. “Meaning no one including me has a clue.”

“Have you ever thought about becoming a doctor?” the man asked again straight away.

Kevin laughed, thinking he was joking, but stopped short when he saw the seriousness in the man’s expression.

“I can’t be a doctor!” he disagreed in shock.

“Why not?”

Kevin just stared at him, opening and closing his mouth like a goldfish for a few seconds before decisively replying: “Because you need to be real smart and get good grades and go to Yale or something!”

“Yeah…” the man chuckled. “And I come out from my office find you reading a book on radiology.”

The young boy opened his mouth to argue once more but realised he was stumped. Having no other valid points he mumbled: “I like to learn stuff.”

That had always been it really. He liked to learn new things but as soon as he knew everything about it, it kind of lost it’s appeal.  _Maybe that was how my parents felt with me._

Max wasn’t giving in yet though, continuing to contribute his opinion. “As a doctor you learn new things every day. In fact any kinda scientific job, you’re making discoveries every day.” He gave a shrug and sent a wry smile Kevin’s way. “But I’m biased towards the medical profession because…well, it’s about people just as much as science. And I love meeting new people.”

“Me too,” Kevin agreed without even thinking. People were the best, because a person was always changing and evolving. There was always something new you could find out about a person, even if you had known them your whole life.

“Look,” Max said, lightly bumping his shoulder with Kevin’s. “I’m certainly not pushing you this way or that, but I always like to make sure kids at your age keep an open mind. Don’t be so sure life is going to head in a set direction, the road is never wider than when you’re young.”

Kevin looked up at his sincere face and gave him an equally earnest nod. “I’ll remember that,” he promised.

The man’s grey eyes sparkled, eyes crinkling in the corners. He looked very pleased. Checking his watch once more, he stood up and straightened his tie, smiling down at Kevin. “Well that’s my break over. I could make that joke about saying I hope to see you soon but not really because this is a hospital…but” he gave the boy a wink. “I might see you in the future Kevin.” 

And with that he was gone, disappearing into the hustle and bustle of the hospital, back to saving lives, and Kevin strangely found himself sitting quietly for the rest of his time spent waiting. His mind carefully ticking over everything the doctor had said to him until he was blinking in surprise as a slender hand was waved in front of his face.

“How did it go?” he asked as soon as he noticed Mitch standing over him with a questioning expression.

Allowing Kevin his outer body moment, the teen beamed at him. “She says she’s going to hire out a race track one day so she can see what my driving skills are really made of!” he boasted, stretching his arms out in front of him in a cocky gesture.

Kevin laughed, normal energy returning to him. “Don’t forget to invite me!” he joked, jumping out of his seat as Mitch started walking back down the hallway.

“Thanks for coming with me Kevo.” Mitch threw an arm across his shoulders. “Shopping?” he added with a smirk.

Kevin nodded. “Shopping!” he proclaimed, never having said the word with such a passion before and Mitch had to release him as he was bounding down the hallway with more height than a kangaroo on springs.

“What are you so happy about all of a sudden?”

“Oh nothing.” Kevin grinned. “Just, y’know, I think I might like to be a doctor one day.” He ceased his bouncing when he caught sight of the amused look Mitch was giving him. “What?” He stopped in his tracks, frame deflating, the doubt creeping back in. “I’m being stupid aren’t I?”

Of course he was being stupid. Mitch, someone who actually had to put up with him on a daily basis, knew that the idea of Kevin becoming a doctor was ridiculous.

He kept his head hung low as the teen closed the gap between them. “Actually Kevin,” Mitch said slowly, placing his arms back around the younger boy’s shoulders. “I do believe you’re starting to realise what everyone else does.”

The younger boy looked at him in confusion. “What’s that?”

“That you can do whatever you want because you’re Kevin damn Olusola!” Mitch cried out, giving him the widest of smiles, and Kevin’s spirits soared sky high again. “C’mon, let’s go!” the teen ordered.

Kevin meanwhile was left astounded.  _If Mitch thinks I can, the Queen of pessimism herself, maybe I do have a chance!_  He laughed out loud, going to follow Mitch who was now also bouncing crazily down the hallway, when something caught his eye.

“Do I need to change your batteries?” Mitch called out to him as Kevin stopped still again, tapping his foot impatiently. He’d clearly had enough of hospitals for one day.  _Huh?_

“No, no…I’m coming,” Kevin replied, squinting once more to where he thought he’d spotted someone and rejoining Mitch when nothing appeared. Keeping the conversation light, Kevin found it hard to concentrate on what Mitch was saying and not even because the boy was boring him in any way or because of his new found perspective on his future. There would be time later to get hyped up about that because, maybe it was just a trick of the light, but for a moment there, he could’ve sworn he’d seen Avi.


	44. Are We There Yet?

_Scars have the strange power to remind us that our past is real. - Cormac McCarthy, All the Pretty Horses_

**Wednesday 22nd April**

He must be going mad. That was the only reasonable explanation Jeremy could come up with for single handedly taking five kids to a remote area far away from any emergency services. His fellow teachers had all expressed concern in the staff room when he announced his plan and suggested maybe one of them should go as support but, to be quite honest, Jeremy knew that would cause even more trouble.

His kids knew him and he had earned their respect, and he knew how to deal with anything they threw at him up to a point. He knew what would send Kirstie into a laughing fit, how to hold a long conversation with Avi, what sort of fashion Mitch was into right now, and how to stop Kevin and Scott from getting too hyperactive. But if another teacher rocked up who knew how their behaviour would change.

They had all been extremely excitable as he picked them up individually from their decided collection points, especially when Avi had appeared outside his gate wearing a dragon beanie Jeremy had assumed the teen had long since thrown away.

Kevin and Mitch had done an excellent job at picking out the unhealthiest food they could find and they were all certainly well stocked for the journey. They were half way through their three hour drive, having left the city at half eleven to travel to a campsite at a park located on the outskirts of the state, one which Jeremy had picked out specially as they had a good record at catering for kids of all ages. It wasn't the closest one he could have chosen, but it was the cheapest and they provided a wide range of activities every day for children and adults of all ages. In other words, there should be some other qualified adults around who would keep an eye on his lot for a while.

The kids had all been well behaved so far and had been singing together the whole way, there must have been at least five renditions of Let It Go, including a heavy metal version which shook the frame of the van up and down as they jumped in their seats. They actually sounded pretty good together and Kevin wasn't a half bad beatboxer, even if he did tend to spray spit everywhere at times in his attempts to work out new sounds. Mitch and Kirstie were also very competent rappers and managed to say some of the cuss words so fast that Kevin didn't even pick up on them. Scott was also very good but he had the habit of going off on these crazy riffs that would distract everybody else even when he forgot the lyrics. Avi on the other hand obviously didn't know the lyrics to many songs at all so would stick to making up his own bass line with his rich, deep voice.

 _I've got my own little a cappella band in the back_ , he realised, glancing in the mirror to see them put their own spin on Gold by Kiiara.  _At least if all else fails, they could try and pursue that as a career_ , he jokingly thought to himself. _Go on Mitch!_

Spotting the sign he'd been hoping to see for a while, Jeremy switched lanes, calling out: "We'll stop here for half an hour," as he pulled off the freeway to a rest area. "So you have to go to the bathroom, get food and do whatever you need to before one," he instructed, parking up in a bay.

"Yes Mr L!" they all chimed, hopping out of the mini-van, grateful to get the chance to stretch their legs. Jeremy tried to keep track of where they all ran off too, but true to form they all spread out in different directions. Typical.

The teacher himself needed to take a bathroom break and found them just in time to see Kevin dashing into the first door he saw.

"Kevin that's the ladies! Oh...never mind then," he trailed off as the boy disappeared and the door slammed shut. The kid would be in for a shock in a few moments. Jeremy felt a bit bad at the smile it brought to his face...but then again it was kind of funny. Sure enough as Jeremy stood washing his hands, he heard a shriek from the next room and exited to find a very stunned Kevin leaning against the ladies door, eyes as wide as an owls.

"Don't go in there," he warned Jeremy, breathing very heavily. The young man chuckled and shoved Kevin in direction of the mens bathroom. Second time lucky hopefully.

After, he then went and bought himself a sub to eat while he wandered around trying to locate his other troublemakers. He was pretty sure he had last seen Mitch and Scott abusing a claw machine but when he found it again, there was only a hassled looking security guard standing near it, his eyes darting about as if he were afraid someone was going to ambush him.  _Hmm_ , Jeremy spun around and continued his search,  _hopefully it's just coincidence that was their last known location_... A bit more searching and then his smallest mischief maker revealed himself as he charged out from a corner near the arcade yelling at the top of his voice: "Mitch! Kirstie! Come and look at these shaky chairs!"

The two teens appeared from behind a busy counter where they had been stuffing their faces with sample cheeses and Jeremy joined them also to see what exactly had Scott so excited, taking note of the multiple stuffed animals Mitch had mysteriously gained.

Kirstie reached Scott first, smiling and shaking her head, quickly explaining, "They're massage chairs, little rat," as she and Mitch both sat down either side of the vibrating and laughing boy.

Jeremy just stared at them blankly as all three started to make "urrrr" sounds as their limbs were shaken by the seats. "You kids are crazy," he remarked, walking off to find Avi. No one needed to know he was associated with those lot while he was here, especially not that security guard. Anyway, he needed to talk to the oldest boy and was hoping the camping trip would be a good excuse to talk to all of his kids a little more rather than just teach them, even though he realised he knew more about his five kids personal lives than any of his teachers ever knew about his own. As a teacher you were told never to get too involved. But time and time again it had been proved that was just impossible with these lot. At least for him it was.

"You should let me drive the next half, we'd get there a lot quicker," Mitch called out cheekily after him, his voice still sounding like a robot from the vibrations of the chair.

Jeremy turned around and pointed a finger at the cheeky teen. "Don't even start," he cautioned, before walking backwards into a trash can. Ignoring the gleeful laughs, he apologised profusely to the staff nearby, red faced, and he gathered up all the litter. It couldn't be coincidence that the longer he spent with his students, the more clumsy he seemed to have gotten.

Luckily he spotted the eldest sitting on the wall outside, and so was able to quickly leave that little scene behind, trying to ignore the fact that the other three had just charged off in another direction, some unknown curiosity catching their attention. Leaving them free to cause mayhem for a bit, Jeremy walked over to find that Avi was surprisingly sipping from a Starbucks cup. Hadn't Avi told him a few weeks ago he'd never tried tea or coffee and probably wasn't going to any time soon?

"You got yourself a coffee?" he queried, sitting down next to the teen and stretching his long legs out in front of him.

"Yeah," Avi murmured, staring at the cup. "Double espresso."

That was another shock. "A double espresso?"

"Well you're the one telling me to," the boy shrugged, "like, try new things all the time."

"Yeah but I meant activities and stuff, not stimulants, you've told me you'd never had caffeine before, I–"

"I'm nearly eighteen and Mitch drinks the stuff all the time, don't get in such a state. I'm only drinking half of it anyway."

"Oh," Jeremy mumbled. "Okay." He had overreacted a little but starting to drink coffee with a double espresso seemed a bit excessive.  _You've got nothing to move forward onto after that, except maybe an Irish coffee._  Avi barely seemed affected by it though, looking quite morose compared to earlier in the van. Something must have happened after they stopped.

Jeremy was about to express his concern when Avi informed him that: "Kevin drank the first half."

"You let  _Kevin_  drink a  _double espresso_?"

"It tasted horrible to begin with," Kevin bellowed, popping up behind them suddenly and nearly sending Jeremy flying off the wall, "but then I added five spoonfuls of sugar and now I feel zingy zangy zongy!"

The young man stared in disbelief at the child before him, who was practically radiating nuclear powered energy. "Zingy. Zangy. Zongy" he repeated slowly, dread seeping into his voice.

Kevin nodded so vigorously Jeremy was afraid his head might come clean off. "I feel like lightning!" he yelled, spinning around ecstatically.

There was only one reply the young man had to that. "Oh my God."

He whipped his head around as another familiar young voice rang out. "Sorry ma'am!" Scott apologised to one of the cleaners who had just received a little bouncy ball to the face. It soon became clear that the three he had left on the massage chairs had gone and bought those tiny but extremely bouncy balls balls you got from those machines, and Kirstie and Mitch were in the process of seeing how many walls they could get theirs to ricochet off, a very flustered security guard flapping about nearby trying to catch either them or the balls.

"You two," he shouted authoritatively, pointing at the youngest teens. "Take these two," he gestured to the youngest two, "somewhere far away from people, cars, electrical wires and any form of life," he ordered, and after a few minutes of chasing Kevin around the parking lot, they eventually managed to cart him off to a nearby field. Now there were only cows for them to annoy.

"Sorry," Avi muttered, not sounding extremely sorry. In fact he had been viewing the whole debacle with a sort of detached expression.

"It's okay," Jeremy looked at him in puzzlement, sitting back down on the wall. "I just don't understand why you let him drink it. You know he doesn't need caffeine to get hyped up."

Out of all his kids, Avi was the one he could trust to be responsible, even like another teacher when it came to Kevin and Scott.

"He was asking me questions." Avi's green eyes narrowed in reminiscence. "I didn't want to answer them. I thought this would be a good distraction," he admitted, holding up the empty cup.

 _When questions get asked, that's when he disappears. Is that why you're so down all of a sudden?_  Despite so much having occurred, Jeremy's original promise of finding out more about Avi's secret past had not been forgotten. Only recently, the teacher had rung around Avi's old schools, and even visited one of them, trying to get answers about why the boy had moved around so much. The first four weren't much help as the boy's teachers either didn't remember the silent child or had moved on from the school in the years since.

However, the last school he had tried, the boy's first one, a private elementary school not far from the boy's own home, had been the most insightful, if not leaving him with an ever growing concern his student. He had gone to this one last not expecting to gain much from it, but there had been an older teacher there who remembered Avi very well as a sweet four year old who had first joined in kindergarten, to the timid seven year old who had said his goodbyes after an incident at school.

Jeremy had sat and listened inquisitively as the fellow teacher told him how Avi had always been a quiet child, but would interact occasionally with the other kids and took part in lessons often enough for them to just pass him off as very shy. He had laughed back then, played in the yard with the others like a normal kid. The though had made Jeremy smile. The next bit hadn't. She told him how there came the day when the little boy had not turned up, at least not until half an hour after the bell, but he had not entered the usual way. The seven year old had walked into school in a frightful state, instead of being dropped off like he often was by his father's driver.

And the part that the teacher recounted next had made Jeremy's blood run cold. After calming the boy down a bit she said they had finally realised he had a broken arm, he had been so anxious on hiding it that it wasn't obvious, as well as some nasty scrapes on one side of his body. When they asked him about it...he said through more tears and a terrified look on his face that his own father had pushed him out of a moving car. That the man had been angered by the boy singing softly to himself, and simply opened the door and shoved him out onto the tarmac before driving ferociously off.

Most of the other teachers had found it hard to believe a man could do such a thing, or so they said, but he was told most of them cared more about their jobs and the large paycheque more than the children; but she also said she had believed the little boy straight away. Why would a seven year old lie about such a thing? She had contacted the police and an investigation was launched instantly. However, within a few days she had been told by her colleagues that the boy had admitted he had been lying and that it had been the seven year old messing around with the car door that had caused him to fall out.

According to Avi's father he had pulled over immediately and put on a good show about the dreaded fear he had felt when he found his son had run off. In the end it had been Avi who was given a warning by the police about lying and the last person who gave the car a service was fired. She had even been forced to make a formal apology to the man for causing him so much hassle! All that commotion and then, a week later, the boy had simply moved schools, and she'd never seen or heard from him again.

 _"But I knew,"_  she had insisted to Jeremy,  _"I knew that Avi would never lie. He was a little angel."_ It was a tall and terrible story. If Avi had been telling the truth then it could very well be interpreted as attempted murder on his father's behalf. It had taken Jeremy a good while to get rid of the chills in his spine after that meeting.

The other "incidents" at Avi's previous schools. Were they all a similar story? There was no way to confirm it but the records were all too similar and elementary school was a long time ago. Avi by all means acted like everything was good. But if Jeremy had learnt anything about his students over they year so far, it was that they were all darn good actors.

Was the reason Avi had been so silent and timid at the start of the year been that he was being abused, that he had been since as early as seven years old? Had that always been the reason at every other school? Surely his past teacher's must've picked up on it, they would have taught him for longer than Jeremy had. And why was nothing ever done? Perhaps most importantly, what was going on with Avi right now?

_A luxurious house...a setting so perfect. What dark secrets does it hide?_

So many questions and Jeremy was unsure how to get the answers. If Avi really had been abused for his whole life then there was definitely a lot of emotional damage under the surface of the seventeen year old. Jeremy liked to think that he and the boy got along well but the fact that he was a teacher was bound to be like a barrier. What had any teacher done for Avi in the past? Called him a liar, ignored him, let the suspected abuse go on.

It was so hard to know what to do and Jeremy was nowhere near qualified to deal with it. He wasn't a psychiatrist or psychologist or even a real freaking teacher.  _Do I really believe I can be the one to help him?_  In his moment of doubt the words his mom had said to him at the start of the year returned to him.  _If you don't help them, who will?_  She was right. Never had that question made more sense. He might not be a professional like Lottie, the lady Mitch saw, but he was someone Avi liked. He could make a difference, he truly believed it. He couldn't just give up on him now.

Giving the teen a gentle nudge with his arm he quietly said, "I know I'm only your teacher but you know you can trust me right?"  _I'm not like those other uncaring bastards_ , was what he really wanted to say, but he didn't think bringing up the past so dramatically was a good idea right now. Especially since Avi was oblivious to his ongoing snooping.

Avi gave him a funny look. "I know," he smirked slightly. "You're a good man Mr L."

Clearly what Jeremy was trying to say wasn't quite getting through so he tried his best to put his feelings into some form of coherent sentence.

"This is breaking another teaching law, but heck, I've broken most of them already why not this one as well." Avi huffed out a small laugh, looking at Jeremy with a keen interest and the young man took out a notebook from one pocket and a pen from another. "This," he started scribbling down the digits, "is my home number and mobile, just y'know for...y'know emergencies."

 _There I go imitating Kevin_ , they do tend to easily slip out during during uncomfortable conversations. And this was definitely uncomfortable. If any of the staff at school heard about this he would hang for it.

He anxiously held the torn piece of paper out to Avi who just stared at it before glaring at him. "Am I meant to feel special?" he jeered in anger, but Jeremy could tell he was on the defensive; just like he always was when anyone took too much of an interest in him.

_When questions get asked, he runs._

"I just want you to have this..." he tentatively placed the paper into the boy's jacket pocket. "I know adults haven't exactly been the best figures in your life." That was as much as he could say. It was ambiguous enough for Avi not to realise that Jeremy knew more than he was letting on but hopefully suggested that Jeremy understood why the teen might put up his walls up around guys like him.

The teen looked like he was about to say something - or hand the paper back - but caught himself just in time and turned away. "Yeah, well thanks," he mumbled quietly and Jeremy could see he needed some time alone.

He stood up and placed a gentle hand on the boy's shoulder. "People care Avi," he promised. "No matter what you think, there will always be people who care."

The boy turned back and for a fleeting moment, Jeremy thought he caught a glimpse of all the years of pain and anguish Avi was keeping hidden deep inside. But then the boy shook his head, blinked, and the look was gone, replaced by the common blank stare he was so good at.

Jeremy walked off without another word. There was no more to say. But inch by inch, he knew some of what he said was getting through to the boy. If progress carried on as it was, with any luck it would only be a matter of time before the boy made his decision whether to come clean or not. Who to, it didn't matter. Jeremy just knew that no one could keep that amount of hurt buried for so long without it consuming them.

Avi needed to speak to someone otherwise that degree of torture might turn him into someone far removed from the shadow of his former self. Someone bitter and cruel and consumed with hatred. And that was not the man Jeremy wanted to see Avi grow up to be. The boy deserved so much more than that.


	45. The Pact

_Love is that condition in which the happiness of another person is essential to your own. - Robert A. Heinlein, Stranger in a Strange Land_

**Later that day...**

Rest stop incident aside, the journey hadn't been all that bad, even if travelling in such close proximities to five other human beings wasn't quite what Avi was used to. They pulled into the campsite just after two, all eager to get out of the stuffy van after an hour of Kevin shouting at every other vehicle they passed and Scott's body deciding it wanted to cough at least three times per minute.

To say Avi regretted giving the eleven year old half of his coffee was an understatement but in the moment he had panicked and just handed it to the younger boy in an attempt to avoid the questions Kevin was throwing his way. When Kevin decided that he wanted to know something, it was very hard to persuade the boy to let it go.

It was his own fault really, he knew going to the hospital had been a mistake, but he'd never had a dislocated thumb before and was worried he'd mess it up if he tried to set it himself. Broken fingers yes, he'd had plenty of those in his time and could set and splint them with his eyes closed, but there was something about a joint bending in completely the opposite direction to what it was supposed to that had freaked him out.

They had been picking up again regularly, the beatings, or "lessons" as the man liked to refer to them as. " _I'll teach you a lesson_." Those were the words that always preceded them. It had only worsened after he'd invited his friends around. He'd been super careful to make sure not a trace of evidence was left from their visit, but his father just knew that something had occurred, his senses had always been impeccable. He didn't know the specifics, but he knew his son and been up to something, and it did not please him.

The dislocated thumb however, had come after Avi had been eyeing up a guitar online that looked remarkably like the old one he used to play at his first school, back when he'd been bold enough and his father had been lenient enough for the boy to take part in extra-curricular activities. Avi had loved playing that guitar and when he had seen a similar instrument online he had saved the page straight away.

No point buying it just yet though. A guitar was not the easiest thing to hide. But it shouldn't be too much longer now. When Kevin had revealed his grandfather was investigating Avi's own father, the teen had almost jumped with joy. The satisfaction he had gained from giving Kevin that snippet of information was so euphoric that Avi wondered what it would be like when he finally saw his father put away for good.

That was something impossible to comprehend at the moment, a grey area in his life where anything could happen.

"Woah, this looks awesome!" Scott shouted out as his eyes scanned the multitude of kids playing in the swimming pool or at the park. It did look pretty awesome, Avi decided, enough to keep them all occupied for a few days anyway. He'd have to stay away from the pool though, he'd make up some excuse. Swimming meant taking your shirt off and some scars weren't so easy to hide.

"I thought you said it was a remote getaway from all the crowds of the city," Mitch added, narrowing his eyes at the crowds of screaming children. He still wasn't too fond of younger kids that weren't Scott or Kevin.

Their teacher shrugged, turning off down a road that was labelled with a painted wooden sign saying "tents". "Well it looks like everyone else had the same idea," he said.

It was so busy in fact that the camp had started using it's extra spaces usually reserved for the summer, so they ended up in a fairly secluded area away from the rest of the campers anyway, a little alcove with the remnants of a previous camp fire long abandoned. As soon as the van had stopped Mitch and Scott were already out like a flash, disappearing back to the main area before Mr L could even ask them to help set up the tents.

Kirstie too snuck away while Mr L dragged a now very tired Kevin out of the van but Avi waited behind; he didn't know how helpful he'd be at setting up a tent but thought it polite to be of assistance. Their teacher had just had a long drive with four insane kids and one reasonably sane nearly-adult. But when Avi asked what he could do to help, Mr L just waved him off amicably, telling him to go and see what activities the camp provided, maybe together they could arrange some sort of plan for the next day. 

Maybe it was for the best, spending a bit of time away from each other after that intense conversation they'd had in the parking lot, or more the teacher talking to him and Avi pretending he wasn't really listening while inside his heart had been beating like rapid fire. No teacher, absolutely no one apart from Kirstie really, had ever spoken to him in such a manner and Avi hadn't just been silent because it was his default, but because he truly struggled to figure how he was supposed to behave when an adult told him that they cared for him.  _That people care._

Care, Avi thought as he spotted a shortcut, it could be shown in so many different ways. His old teachers were supposed to care for him but they only cared that he got good enough grades so his father wouldn't have them fired. That used to be the meaning of care for him. Now though...care meant looking out for one another, having each other's back, an unconditional love and trust that only the six of them could understand.

He knew he was letting them down; by not speaking the whole truth he was letting them down. He wanted to though, he knew in his heart that he wanted to, that he had to. It was the next step he had to take. Not quite yet though, this trip was meant to be a time of relaxation, a brief getaway from their chaotic lives. He wasn't going to ruin it for anyone by announcing: "Oh yeah guys, just to let you know, my father's held a ferocious and unjustified grudge against me ever since my mom died in childbirth, and he's been abusing me since I could walk and talk." It didn't seem like it would add much to the camping experience.

Avi walked through the trees, away from the main path and took a deep breath, never having smelt air so clean. The twigs crunched under his boots and squirrels scuttled away at his approach. He smiled. It wasn't so bad here, his first impressions of camping quite a positive one.

He hopped down the bank to the main site and began looking round to see what exactly you could do at a place like this. In one area there were a load of staff all trying to get people to sign up to their specialised activity, and Avi spent some time wandering up and down, mentally crossing off some (such as Latin dancing and knitting) and putting a tick next to others (like white water rafting and survival in the wilderness lessons).

He smiled to himself as he watched a tiny girl being swung around in the arms of a man - presumably her dad - laughing and screaming in delight. That was what he wanted one day. To love someone that age in a way he never was.

Turning another corner he discovered an area that mainly consisted of a lot of small stalls from local or on-site businesses selling homemade cookies, cakes, little wooden and stone statues and, at one stand, dreamcatchers. This was where Scott and Mitch were at the moment, and Avi joined them just in time to hear Scott chatting away to a lady who looked like she had just stepped out of the seventies. The little boy was vigorously interrogating the poor woman about the stuff she was selling, all while Mitch stood a few paces behind with a very amused expression planted on his face.

"This is a dream catcher young man," the lady explained as Scott fiddled with the beads and feathers. "It's made by the Native Americans and it catches all your dreams and keeps them safe forever."

"I had a dream about foxes eating me last night and I don't want that one again."

Avi felt Mitch lean into his side, burying his face into the older boy's shoulder, trying to hide how much he was laughing.

The lady tried to reassure Scott that, "this one only catches the best dreams." _I'm pretty sure that's not how it works ma'am._

It didn't satisfy Scott anyway, who continued complaining: "I don't like dreams! It's like...you've gone to sleep but your brain's staying up all night at a sleepover with your lungs."

Mitch had now moved completely behind him and Avi could hear the quiet snickering. The teen shook his head smiling.  _To be fair what Scotty said makes perfect sense._  Avi often wished his outlook on life could be so straightforward.

"And why do we have nightmares? Cos isn't your brain on your side?"

Avi pushed Mitch away to another stall after he emitted a loud snort and smiled kindly at the very bewildered woman.

"Let's go and check out the park Scotty," he coaxed, pulling the boy away.

"I already did," the blond huffed, coughing some more and pulling his hood up despite the warmth. "But some big kid kept telling me it wasn't for five year olds," he complained.

"And you just left?"

"Yeah, well I didn't want to fight him. Fighting's bad Avi."

The older boy laughed at the mini lecture Scott was giving him. "Who said anything about fighting" he exclaimed. "Just go back there and show off how much of a monkey you are!"

Scott pondered on this for a second before grinning cheekily up at him. "Okay, I'll show him!"

"Go get 'em midget man," Avi encouraged, nudging the boy forward and miming at Mitch to keep an eye on him.

The younger teen rolled his eyes and Avi realised if anyone was going to know exactly how to handle Scott's antics it would be Mitch. It was incredible really; to see how close the two boys were now when, at the start of the year, Mitch would have to be physically moved or bribed to be anywhere near the youngest. And now they were inseparable, a right crazy pair.

 _Actually we all kinda are_. Like he'd been thinking, that love and understanding hadn't evolved from thin air. They were all completely different people, with vastly varied personalities and backgrounds but they all had one thing in common. Mr L and his little classroom. It had drawn them all together somehow even if the school only intended for it to be a means of keeping them hidden away, and had made Avi realise that there were people out there who cared about him and would accept him for who he was.

It was a shame Mr L might be thinking of getting another job. True, he had only mentioned it once to Avi a while back now, but surely this couldn't be the job their teacher had set out to get. Maybe that was the only factor stopping Avi from opening up completely to the young man about his home life when he had spoken to him at the rest stop. He might be moving on at any time.

He jumped slightly when he felt hands suddenly grasp around his waist, but knew almost instantly, by the slender fingers and the particular perfume he had grown used to, who it was. "C'mon Avi, let's go exploring!" Kirstie exclaimed, as Avi spun her around so she was in front of him.

He took in her expression, the way her eyes crinkled slightly in the corners and the quirk at one corner of her lips, revealing the shapely teeth. She looked happy. As happy as a baboon in a banana tree, as Kevin would probably say.

Avi wished it were forever permanent. That her happiness would stay put, a smile eternally stained upon her lips. Her joy, her love, her laughter, her cheer. He wished it would reach the ears of those who didn't know the warmth of such harmonies. He wished he could share it all; life's song, the swelling symphony that could mend any broken heart. No sane person would be left unsmiling.

He gestured for her to lead the way. "Rock n' roll," was what he actually said, earning another smirk from Kirstie. She loved it when he said that little catchphrase of his.

The two strolled away from the main site and Kirstie discovered a small pathway in between some giant rocks, which she insisted they must take, despite Avi's concerns that he'd trip over a stray branch or a boulder might fall on his head. The path ended up turning into a scramble up a rock face; a climb which left Avi red-faced and shaky-legged by the time Kirstie heaved him up the last bit.

"That's your idea of exploring? Climbing up the nearest cliff you find?" he coughed out, putting his head between his knees as he attempted to catch his breath.

"I like to get a good viewpoint of where I'm at. I'm used to tower blocks remember," she sat closer to him, putting her hands on either side of his head. "And you've got to admit that's a pretty nice view," she quietly said as she tilted Avi's face upwards.

It took the boy's eyes a moment to adjust in the bright sunlight but when they did he could see what she meant. "Yeah...not bad," he whispered. It was truly beautiful. The campsite itself wasn't that bad to look at, but up here you could see beyond their enclosed area to the landscape that surrounded them.

The woods and mountains stretched before him and the fields, a great quilt of golden, brown and green squares held together by the thick stitching of the hedgerows. The brilliant greens banished every dark thought and the vibrant blue sky lifted his eyes to admire the strands of drifting white cloud, free of the smog that city life brings. The trees were deep with late spring foliage and the flowers were dotted across the countryside like paint splattering of every colour imaginable.

_Yeah. Not bad at all._

The sight relaxed him so much he didn't even flinch when Kirstie unexpectedly laid her head down on his shoulder, like he was still accustomed to do when anyone initiated physical contact by surprise. He brought his left arm up to place around her. It felt like the most natural thing to do and they just sat for a while, perfectly comfortable in each other's silence, like only the closest of "friends" were.

He still wasn't quite sure where they stood on that front. Kirstie had made it pretty clear that she didn't want anything to progress too quickly but then, at his house, in his arms, she had agreed to try and work it out. He had acted like that was the best news he could have possibly received but truthfully, having never had any experience in this type of relationship before, he didn't really know what it meant.

He ran a thumb up and down her shoulder, grinning as he felt her sigh against him. "So Mr L gave me phone number," he randomly revealed to her.

"What?" she exclaimed, sitting upright. "He hitting on you or something?" she smirked.

Avi rolled his eyes. "I think he knows more than he lets on." Honestly, he thought they all knew more than they were letting on, his father's illicit activities weren't exactly private knowledge anymore and could be researched if you knew where to look, but he appreciated them giving him his space.

Kirstie titled her head inquisitively and Avi couldn't stop the smile creeping onto his face at how...how...  _how perfect she is_. "About your father?" she asked

He tilted his own head back to the blue sky and shook his head with a half laugh. "About everything."

The girl frowned and Avi knew how much that answer frustrated her. Over the past few weeks, as his father had gotten more careless with where he left his marks on the boy's skin, Kirstie had been the one helping him cover them up for school with make-up seeing as he was worse than terrible. He no longer lied to her about where they had come from; there was no point, she always saw right through his tales. The old wounds were the only ones she didn't know about, but he wasn't exactly lying if she never asked.

She was the only one who knew just how much damage his father had inflicted on him, but she was still in the dark as to why and how long it had been going on for.

The girl huffed. "How come he's allowed to know stuff?" she queried, in regard to Mr L.

"Cos he's a teacher," Avi pointed out. "It's his job isn't it?"

_That's not really true is it? In my previous experience teachers try to stay as far away from your personal problems as possible. They don't want to get their own happy lives mixed up in your shit one. That's what makes Mr L special. He really does care._

"What am I then?" Kirstie nudged him, acting casual but also very keen to hear his answer.

He had to think carefully about that one. "You are a...very good friend."

"Wow...that's cool," she muttered sounding disappointed, and Avi had to remind her of the facts.

"You're the one who turned me down on a date, remember?" He said it in jest but she gave him a hard look.

"But now I've told you I'm willing to give us a try."

"Yeah, to be honest Kirst," he responded, scratching the back of his head. "I'm not sure what that means. I mean yeah, great, I like that we're an us. But does that mean I can call you my...y'know." He didn't know why even the word was so hard to say. "You might not have realised because I've  _definitely_  not been clear  _at all_ , but that was kind of my original plan.

"Alright enough of the sass," she murmured, before sighing. "I don't know if I can be a part of your plans Avi."

That just annoyed him, maybe more than was necessary but at the end of the day he was still just a teenaged boy with typical unstable teenaged emotions. "I don't understand you!" he declared. "You keep acting like you want to be more than friends and yet, when I try making a move, you always turn away." He gave her a distressed look. "You can't mess me around like this, I'm not a strong enough person," he finished by slamming his right hand down hard on the rock, and immediately crying out in pain.

_Stupid, stupid idiot!_

"Avi?" Kirstie grabbed at him urgently as he squeezed his eyes tight shut. "He hurt you again didn't he?" she probed softly, while the boy let out noiseless whimpers.

He inhaled loudly, checking to make sure his thumb was still pointing in the right direction. "He hurts me every single  _fucking night_ ," he hissed once he was certain no further damage had been inflicted. He knew he'd been dumb to remove the bandage wrapping.

"What did he do this time?" she demanded to know.

"Dislocated thumb." Again, there was no point hiding in plain sight from the girl at this stage.

Her expression turned murderous. "I'm gonna kill him," she snarled.

"No need. I hear his career will be over very soon," he gave her a half grin, half grimace. "If the cops can pin everything they can on him he's gonna be looking at life imprisonment. That's good enough for me."

Her rage was partially sated. "Huh, I thought my dad was the master criminal."

He cast a knowing gaze at her. "Maybe we're not as different as you thought," he suggested.

She had no reply for that. "But Avi," she fretted instead, taking his hand in hers. "Why don't you just leave? Why carry on suffering by  _his_  hand?"

She was deliberately steering the conversation away from their previous one, perhaps even slightly grateful he had interrupted them in such a way. Now the pressure was on him to provide the answers.

The boy looked at the slender fingers in his, playing with the silver rings she always wore. It was a valid question but one he felt she already knew the answer to. "I could say the same for you."

She frowned. "What do you mean?"

"You hate your life," he observed. "I can see it. No matter how hard you try, you'll never fit in with whatever shit your family is up to. It's not who you are." Avi looked deep into the girl's hazel eyes, "So tell me Kirstie Maldonado, why are  _you_  sticking around?"

She pursed her lips together, clearly unsure what to say. Were her thoughts visible they would be a inverse explosion, crazy chaotic turns and twists of light all coming together to just one idea, to just one sentence. Though they spin in a way that appears without design or logic, they always dance their way back to love, to a way of living that celebrates life without damaging the very people she held dearest. "Because something big is coming, a war," was her eventual answer.

Avi understood. "The Strikers," he mused.

"Yeah."

"You don't happen to know the reason behind Scotty leaving his home?"

At the youngest's name her face fell. "I had to get a message out somehow," she responded. "His mom...somehow she's got herself tangled up in all this mess," she explained, lowering her eyes. "I saw her name on the list."

Avi didn't have to ask what sort of list Kirstie was referring to.  _Does my midget man really not know what his mom's involved in? If not she's done a good job at keeping him out of it, but how safe can he really be? If anything happened to him...God._

And if anything happened to the girl next to him he had no idea what he would do, she'd become his world. "You did the right thing," he tried to reassure her, holding her close to him once more.

"Hardly, he looks half starved most of the time." Although too close to the truth, the blond still seemed in high spirits at least. Cough aside he hadn't really changed much since moving to the shelter, and he was only nine. Kids that age wouldn't be able to hide from their friends so easily... _well, I did... but he's not me, his sun shines way brighter than mine ever has._

"But he's alive," he continued to assure her. "And we'll look out for him."

"Yeah," she muttered. "Doing his mom's job."

He raised his eyebrows. "I don't think either you or I are in the position to judge their relationship," he pointed out.

Not only had they never met the woman or knew what she was going through, but they didn't even have a mom themselves to compare Scott's mom to. They had discovered that little fact on the same day; it had just come out really, Avi telling her that he'd never known his mom and Kirstie's crestfallen apology afterwards in regards to her snide comments in the past about his mom being the only woman Avi had kissed. He didn't mind, at the time it had hurt, but he knew she would never say anything to upset him on purpose.

He didn't really know which was worse, knowing that your mom was dead and you'd never get to see her, or not knowing who the fuck your mom was and constantly having that doubt of who you were and where you'd come from at the back of your mind.

"I need to see it through." Kirstie started, confusing Avi for a second before he realised she was still responding to his earlier question. "I need to make sure that the right people get what's coming to them, cos if I'm not around then...then it could all go wrong. I know it sounds stupid but I need to see this through to the end, for my own benefit." Avi smiled softly and he felt Kirstie's body shift as realisation finally came to her. "That's why  _you're_  staying isn't it?"

"I need to be there," Avi confirmed. "I need to see the look in his eyes when he realises his life is over. That all the people he hurt and stole from are going to get their justice. I need closure." He leant his head against hers. "To see it through to the end," he echoed her own statement.

It was silent again as both teens reflected on what their choices might cost them, of what it might mean for their futures, until Kirstie spoke up. "Let's make a pact," she said, the twinkle returning to her eyes.

He looked at her in confusion. "A pact?"

"Yeah, a pact," she nodded enthusiastically. "Let's make a pact that we're not going to let ourselves get pushed around any more. We need to stand up for ourselves and prove to our respective fathers that we're not weaklings before it's taken out of our hands, because even if we never see them again, in our minds they'll always have this control over us. No matter what happens at least they'll know that we're not their playthings and they were assholes to ever dare hurt us. That both of us are stronger than they ever believed possible."

_Us._

She turned her head to watch the mass of children playing in the park below. If he squinted Avi swore he could see Scotty at the very top of the wooden pirate ship, waving his arms about like a little show off. Avi racked his brain to try and remember the last time he had been close to being that carefree. It had been a long time ago, and it had been a boy who was almost a foreigner to him now.

"It's the only way we can be free," Kirstie finished decisively. "What do you say?"

He took in her eager face and sighed.  _Easier said than done._ Avi didn't know what standing up would involve for him. Would that mean standing up and fighting back, he wasn't much of a fighter, or did it mean simply not falling in the first place?  _Not cowering when my father beats me is one thing, standing up to him though, surely that was suicide?_ But deep down in his heart, Avi knew Kirstie was right. He...they both needed to do this. And they could, together.

_Hey, what's one more hurdle I guess?_

He pulled the girl even closer as a breeze whipped the leaves around their heads, enveloping them in a kind of whirlwind curtain, blocking out all else. "I'm game if you are," he said with more confidence than he felt. "One more thing I'd like to add though."

She raised those cat like eyes to meet his and once again Avi felt his breath get taken away at the beauty of them. He didn't know how good hanging out with her was for his health, if he reacted like this every time she looked at him in a certain way.

Kirstie was still waiting on him and so he carried on, "After all this shit has gone down, you," he folded the girl's hand into a fist, "will let me," he repeated the action for his own, "take you out to dinner. A proper date."

_And now await rejection..._

The girl looked down at both their fists and rolled her eyes, smirking at his little attempt to fist bump. She raised her hand anyway and met his own so as not to leave him hanging, for once clear of any doubt or worry this agreement might bring her, the blissful joy from earlier returning to her face, the emotion that, as it stood, only he seemed to be able to evoke.

"Deal," she concurred as their knuckles touched. "I'll hold you to that Mr Kaplan."

He grinned, nodding his head slightly as their stares locked, the deal now confirmed.

 _And good luck_ , he thought.  _Good luck to the both of us._


	46. I Am The Wolf, You Are The Moon

_I think we dream so we don't have to be apart for so long. If we're in each other's dreams, we can be together all the time. - A.A. Milne, Winnie-the-Pooh_

**Friday 24th April**

Camping was pretty awesome. He thought he had reached peak awesomeness when they had visited the zoo, but this mini holiday might have eclipsed even that. It was three days of being able to spend constant time with his best friends and trying out loads of new activities. What nine year old wouldn't love that?

On the day they arrived Mr L had signed them up for some kind of class where they were taught how to make fires and set traps for little rabbits. Scott didn't find the idea of killing little baby bunnies very appealing but had great fun building the biggest fire he could, that was until the instructor came over to stop him in fear he would start a forest fire.

For dinner they had eaten at one of the camp's restaurants that had a swimming pool right next to it, which they would all keep hopping in and out of between courses until they began to feel sick, except for Avi who made up some excuse about not liking water despite all their persuasions and encouragement. Afterwards they had gone to watch a musical comedy and everyone had been shocked at how much Kirstie got into the show. If there had been a prize for the most enthusiastic clapper she would have won hands down.

Scott wished this was the Kirstie they could always see, the one who wasn't afraid of acting passionate and whole-hearted, and who laughed without regret. Of course as soon as it was over those well structured walls had erected themselves once more, but Scott could see they were becoming more and more of a struggle to keep up. One day someone was going to break through. Scott had his bets on Avi.

The blond was just confused as to why the oldest two weren't together already. They clearly really, really liked each other and were always going off on "walks" to "look at scenery". Yeah, yeah, he'd heard that one before. Plus, they had all witnessed their little moment at Avi's house. If that wasn't indication they should be together he didn't know what was.

Shelby from the shelter would lecture him that good relationships were founded on secrets, not true love, and he could see where she was coming from. She and her boyfriend had been living happily together, with the woman in the dark about the illicit activities he was involved in. Now all that had come to light and they were living in squalor. Their relationship couldn't be more on the rocks.

But on the other hand, continuing to lie to someone could cause just as much harm. Take his mom for example. Beforehand Scott had idolised her, thought no adult was more perfect in the world. Now...now he wondered how well he really knew her, with the sneaking around, the disappearing for long hours sometimes days and not taking him to get a check up on his cough like Mr L had suggested.

In complete comparison, Mitch would be asking him on a regular basis if it was any better or worse, if there were any other symptoms. The blond would always tell him: _"I'm fine, stop worrying Mitchy!"_ and would make sure he put extra effort into being energetic for the next hour or so. He felt bad. Because he was lying. Truly, it had started off as a simple cold, like ones he'd had many times previously, but now his throat was constantly sore, he got headaches and a lot of the time his joints ached like he'd just completed an intense workout.

But he was alright. He had memories of being sick when he was real small and his dad was still around; of the man giving his hair a ruffle and telling him that "men like them could look after themselves". His dad had been tough. If he was still around Scott was certain the man would tell him there was nothing to worry about, and really he supposed, what did he have to worry about? It wasn't like he had an exhausting job, or parents who hated him; he wasn't involved in gang affairs of any kind. He was just a kid who lived in a bit of a shit home.

And even that place could be forgotten temporarily when he was camping. Tents were twenty times better than the floor! When Mr L had finally kicked them off to bed that first evening, he had been concerned he was going to have coughing fits throughout the night and annoy everyone. As it turned out though, it was the opposite. That first night Scott had shared a tent with Kevin, only to be woken up horrified in the middle of the night by the monstrous sounds emitting from the sleeping boy next to him. Talk about the peace and quiet of sleeping in the wilderness! Scott was having none of it and so the next day the youngster demanded he share with someone else otherwise he would smother Kevin in his sleep, so Avi offered to swap as apparently he was a deeper sleeper. That was fine with Scott because it meant he got to share with Mitch instead and they had stayed up late whispering to each other about their dream vacations. Mitch's had been Iceland and Scott's had been just anywhere that was hot and sunny and had cool animals.

And then yesterday had been action-packed. In the morning they had gone white water rafting which had them all screaming their heads off in exhilaration; and in the afternoon they had done a tree top obstacle course which had been too easy in Scott's opinion, and he kept scaring everybody by pretending he hadn't clipped his safety rope on properly before making daring leaps off the platforms thirty feet above ground.

He hadn't seen anything wrong with it but Mr L had been cross with him after that and given Scott a telling off which left the boy in a sulky mood for the rest of the day, a rarity for him but these past few days the little blond had even noticed changes in his own behaviour in addition to his health. He'd always punched above his weight, acting bigger than he really was, however recently he had been getting even more tired than usual, his movements feeling sluggish and his limbs heavy. He didn't know if it was in connection to his cough, or if he was just tired in general, cough or not. There was also a small, annoying paper cut on the palm of his hand that didn't seem to be healing and made him feel grumpy whenever he looked at it. He just wanted everything to go back to normal, his life and himself.

Luckily the final activity of yesterday had lifted his spirits once more. Bubble soccer was basically normal soccer except all players had to wear these giant inflatable balls around the top halves of their bodies. You could tackle players by bouncing them out of the way and if you got knocked over you just bounced about and rolled everywhere trying to trip others up.

They were all crying with laughter most of the time, even Mitch whose tactic was to stay away from the mayhem and shout orders to the rest. The tactic paid off in the end, as the slender boy was the one who was just in the right place at the right time to score the winning goal for their team.

"Mitch! Mitch! Mitch!" everyone had begun chanting once they were free of the bubble cages. Mr L even lifted the teen up high and paraded him around the field to the cheers, from friends and strangers alike. At the start of the year having this much attention on him would have sent Mitch's anxiety levels through the roof but now here Scott was, watching his friend smile brightly and laugh as people crowded around him like he was royalty. He had even got a bit jealous after a while and gone and grabbed the teen so he was back with him. Mitch was  _his_  best friend after all.

Today, the last full day they had at the camp, had been a lot more relaxed which was just as well, as Scott didn't know if his body would have coped with the same amount of intense workouts as yesterday. Mr L had just given them free reign to explore the free activities available at the camp, and all five had just spent most of the day playing mini golf (which Kirstie won by cheating), swimming (Avi still couldn't be persuaded to join them) and eating all the free food (some might say this was a mistake).

Usually when he'd had a day of eating well the nine year old usually felt regenerated, and he thought with eating a lot - or a lot for him - three days in a row, he might feel completely new. But that wasn't the case this time. He felt just as drowsy and passive as he did when he hadn't eaten anything and by the time Mr L was preparing the burgers at seven o'clock by their little campfire he felt ready to drop dead.

He was glad his teacher had managed to arrange this trip, because to be honest, he was pretty certain he wouldn't have been eating anything if he was at "home". It just wasn't something he did very much anymore. Some evenings he would just sit in the driest corner he could find of the damp shelter, knees up to his chest, head buried in them, the only energy he felt he had was used to concentrate purely on breathing in and out, calmly and steadily. Anything harder would have been too taxing on his empty reserves. He didn't ask for help and hardly anyone offered it. Sometimes one of the nicer adults would ask if he was okay but if they suspected he was hungry they had no food to give him. Only Rudy. The Polish guy liked to pretend he was some kind of hard-headed gangster, but then he had gone and shared half his minuscule meal with the nine year old, like it was nothing. The man was also the only one who knew...

_"You're not happy, are you kiddo?"_

_"Nope."_

_"Have you told your mom?"_

_"She's always busy."_

_"Do your friends at school know?"_

_"Nuh-uh."_

_"You gonna tell them?"_

_"I dunno how."_

He wanted to tell his friends and teacher, but he never knew what he was supposed to say. He knew if he did mention it they would all jump to help him without a moments hesitation, but they all had their own problems to deal with, he might be young but he could see that clear as day. He just wanted them all to be happy, surely any problems he had could just hold on. Right now they needed him to be the happy, glass half full, hyped up friend they all knew. He could hold on, his dad had always told him he was tough.  _I'm almost an adult anyway._

Wandering over to the fire, covering his eyes as the smoke blew his direction, he smiled sleepily as the oldest boy came up behind him. "Scotty come and sit with me," Avi said, not really giving Scott any option as he steered him to one of the logs. "I'm stealing him away from you Mitch sorry," Avi apologised to the younger teen as he sat down, pulling Scott onto his lap. Mitch was already sitting on the opposite log anyway with Kirstie and Kevin. Mr L had a whole stump all to himself, his throne as they had nicknamed it.

Mitch gave a thumbs up of approval to the oldest boy. "You're welcome to him," he joked and Scott poked his tongue out, too grumpy to think of a comeback.  _Stupid little baby paper cut. Why's it not gone yet?_

Thankfully he was partially distracted from the niggling pain when the smell of cooked food drifted his way. "Food is served!" Mr L announced holding up the delicious plate of burgers for everyone to take. Scott tried to eat his quickly so he could have another before they were all gone, but half way through he felt his eyelids growing heavy and the next thing he was aware of was the body underneath him suddenly shifting as it went to catch the falling food.

"Hey," Avi nudged him gently. "Wake up," he said, putting the food back into Scott's hands.

"Mm'wake," the youngster mumbled into the boy's jacket.

"Not according to your eyes," Avi retorted, giving the blond's nose a small tap and making the boy laugh as he copied his trick of over-dramatically eating his food.

"I've got something that might wake you all up," Mr L interjected, even though it was obvious Scott was the only one who was tired at the moment, and he stood up, making his way to the van.

"Porn!" Mitch shouted out in the midst of his and Kevin's tickle war, one which had already left a large ketchup stain on Kevin's shirt.

"Bad word Mitchy!" Kevin yelled into the boy's ear. "Naughty!" he started smacking him.

"It's not bad you idiot, it's natural!

Mr L sighed. "Kevin, don't judge Mitch for his hobbies; Mitch, can you please not scream the word porn out so everyone in a five kilometer radius can hear. We're trying to convince everyone else that we're not completely crazy."

The settled for pulling faces at each other, while Kirstie rolled her eyes and shifted further away from them. Scott just watched from across the fire, too tired to do the usual and join in, but enjoying the show all the same. Now having maintained some form of order their teacher continued his walk to the minivan, vanishing into the darkness for a few moments before returning with an object that excited all the kids.

"You have a guitar?" Avi asked incredulously, Scott could feel him sitting up straighter.

 _No that's a piano Avi_ , Scott thought sarcastically.

Their teacher grinned and held up what was definitely a well worn guitar. There were multiple faint scratches and old, half peeled off and worn down stickers on it, but it looked well loved, and well used. Mr L had certainly kept that a secret from them. "Yeah," the teacher held the instrument up and patted it gently. "I'm no Hendrix but I can play a few chords."

"That's a few more chords than the rest of us," Kevin pointed out.

Scott felt Avi take a deep breath as if he were going to say something but in the end all he came out with was, "Mmm..."

 _Got something to say Avi?_  Apparently not, as the older boy held his tongue and remained silent while the other three eagerly started shouting out their requests.

"Play some Boyz to Men!" Kevin cried out excitedly, nearly tipping the whole log over backwards.

The teacher bit his lip anxiously. "I don't know how to play any of their stuff," he admitted.

"Play Us The Duo!"

"I don't know who that is."

"What?" Mitch stared at the young man. "Get out," he ordered, pointing his finger in the direction of the woods, as if he expected the young man to just lumber off like some disobedient dog.

Mr L looked defeated at their cross faces and folded arms. "Fine it was just an idea," he muttered.

_Seems like I'm not the only exhausted one if Mr L can't even see everyone's just playing with him._

"No Mr L!" Scott burst out, not able to bare seeing a downcast expression on anyone's face for too long. "Everyone's just kidding, we wanna hear your guitar stuff," he insisted.

The teacher still looked slightly uncertain. "I'm not forcing–"

"Just play the damn thing Mr L!" Kirstie instructed, laughing, elbowing Kevin in the ribs and forcing him to stop teasing the young man.

"Alright," Mr L nodded, regaining his confidence; sitting down on his stump with the guitar across his lap. "I'm sure you all know this one," he said, beginning to play out a tune they all knew.

"Yeah!" All the kids cheered as their teacher strummed out the familiar chords on his old guitar, the man himself smiling as his confidence grew with their approval.

_Wow, it's been a while since I've heard this, Scott realised. My dad used to listen to it all the time._

"We want it all, our time is coming soon," Mr L sang out in what was actually a decent voice.  _Hey, you coulda joined in when we were singing in the van!_  One the way back, Scott decided, on the way back he'd get everyone involved.

"Mr L!" Kevin whooped in approval.

"We walk it off, a-whistlin' our tune," he continued.

Kirstie grinned. "You better strum that thing Mr L!" she encouraged.

Scott sensed what was coming next and racked his brains to make sure he remembered the correct lyrics. "Thunder in our heads, flowers in our beds, I saw you. Ooh aah ooh o-oh!" Everyone belted out at the top of their voices, not caring who heard them now. It wasn't the most melodic of singing, but it was certainly one of the most joyous, almost like a chant.

"Oh, I am a wolf!" Mr L cried out.

"Ooh aah ooh o-oh!" The rest of them echoed and Scott started howling to the moon like the werewolf pup he knew he was born to be.

"Way out in the woods!"

"Ooh aah ooh o-oh!" They echoed again, although this time Scott noticed Kirstie was gazing steadily in his direction, a small smile playing on her lips, but not directly at him, maybe just above his head. That must mean... _I did wonder if Avi's body just tensed up_. Normally he would have been a pest and pointed it out to everyone, but ruining their little moment right now, in the middle of the song, seemed just plain wrong.

Mr L continued to holler, "And you are the moon!"

After that little song finished they demanded Mr L play whatever else he knew or even half knew, singing until their lungs were tired and they began receiving noise complaints from nearby campers whose children weren't night animals or used to the ways of wild city kids.

Voices now lower, it was then that Kirstie also went off to fetch something from her tent, a coy look on her face, one fully explained when she returned with an unopened bottle of caramel vodka. She glanced towards the teacher to see if he had any issue but Mr L had only raised his eyebrows, not stopping the girl from popping the bottle open and offering everyone a sip.

"You speak a word of this to anyone else and I'm arranging to have you deported to Australia, with immediate affect," their teacher warned as the bottle was passed around the fire, but he took a sip of his own all the same when it reached him.

"Please do," Mitch groaned. "At least there I have hope of achieving an acceptable tan."

Avi snorted, "You're one to talk."

"It's alright for you, you're Jewish, people don't expect you to be tanned!" The boy protested, putting the tip of his index finger in his mouth and pulling it out seductively. "I on the other hand," he purred, "am an Italian stallion, I have standards."

A distraction from that particular show was fortunately provided with a loud: "Eugh!" and they all flipped their heads to Kevin, who was having his first taste of alcohol. Starting with vodka, even if it was caramel, was kind of jumping in at the deep end. "That," the boy spluttered, "is not a nice drink." He quickly passed it on to Avi and Scott.

 _Kevo's grandparents are gonna murder Mr L if they find out he's had a double espresso and vodka on our trip,_  Scott smirked to himself and took a large sip of the drink before Avi could take it off him.

_Wow! That is strong stuff!_

Blinking the alcohol induced tears from his eyes he assured Kevin, "You'll like it when you're older."

The others were all giving him a weird look. "You have no idea how strange that looks," Mitch claimed as Scott took enough sip before Avi pried it from his fingers.

Scott shrugged. "Michael used to let me have some sometimes," he explained, not adding  _"and my dad and my sisters"._ "I didn't like it either at the start, but it is an ac-acui...an acquired taste." He smiled to himself for using that big word and saw Mr L wink at him from across the fire. He didn't see why it was so bad for kids to drink alcohol anyway, it was what Michael would call a "happy drink". What was so wrong about that?

Kevin shook his head. "It's a disgusting taste!" he disagreed.

"Maybe," Mitch pondered, drinking a little himself, before rolling it about in his hands and smirking mischievously. "But you can do awesome stuff with it too." And with that he took a large gulp and immediately spat it back out onto the fire.

"Woah!" Kevin exclaimed as a huge fireball rose out of the flames like a swarm of angry red bees, erupting into the night's sky. He held his hand out excitedly. "Give it here I wanna go!"

And so for the rest of the night they spent their time not drinking, but spitting the vodka onto the campfire to see who could make the biggest fireball until it was gone midnight. Scott had long since passed out in Avi's arms and Kevin had recently turned to resting his head on Mitch's shoulder, practically drooling on him.

When Mr L finally instructed everyone to call it a night his voice actually stirred Scott from his sleep, and he opened his eyes the tiniest amount to see everybody standing up; but the youngster decided that instead of doing the same, he was going to play his old game of 'pretend I'm still asleep cos I'm too lazy to put myself to bed'. He used to play that game all the time when he was really small and life had been simple and so much easier.

He didn't think it would actually work, that he would be called out for his ploy. However when he heard Mr L say "It's okay Avi, I've got him," and felt the two strong arms lift him up, he realised either they had fallen for his trick or they were too kind-hearted to deny him. "C'mon little rascal," his teacher whispered as he carried the little blond to his and Mitch's tent.

Scott heard the zip open and then he was being gently placed down on the air mattress amongst the blankets. Soon after he sensed another body entering and heard his best friend quietly talking to his teacher.

"Need any help?" the teen asked while Mr L carefully undid the zip on Scott's jacket.

"Just help me take his jacket and shoes off Mitch," the man hushed. "Oh and maybe his hat." Scott felt the snapback being carefully removed and then Mitch's slender fingers brush through his hair. "That things glued to his head all the time nowadays I forget it's not an actual body part," Mr L marvelled.

"It was a good investment," Mitch murmured, as he tenderly placed the blankets on Scott's pretend sleeping form.  _It was. It was the best present ever!_

There was a brief pause. "What?" he heard the teen suddenly ask.

"Nothing," Mr L let out a faint laugh. "It's just you...and him, I dunno. Just never foresaw that one did I?"

"He's my best friend," Mitch affirmed and Scott had to bite his cheeks to stop his face from breaking into a huge grin.

 _Ow_.

Another pause and then more whisperings. "What is a friend? A single soul dwelling in two bodies," he heard his teacher muse thoughtfully.

"You make that up yourself Mr L?" Mitch asked with a soft laugh.

"I think so...or maybe it was Aristotle."

Mitch softly laughed again. "Night Mr L."

"See ya bright and early Mitch."

Scott heard the zip being done up again and Mitch rummaging around, also getting ready for bed. His pretend dozing state was now almost real once more, his mind wandering into that unknown realm only sleep could unlock.

The blond was nearly completely gone when he heard Mitch's hushed tones once more, right by his left ear. "Night Scotty," the boy said softly. "I hope you don't dream about foxes eating you again." The mattress dipped down on one side as Mitch leaned forward, and then the youngster felt the older boy plant a gentle kiss on his forehead before rolling over to go to sleep himself.

Now safe to smile, he did.  _Huh, two kisses this month_ , the boy pondered, harking back to when Jeanie McGowan had cornered him in the locker room.  _This kiss was much better though_ , he decided. One: it wasn't on the lips and two: it made him feel loved an protected by one of Scott's best friends in the whole wide world. That night he went to sleep a very content little boy.

At some point in the early hours of the morning he was awoken by an owl, a series of hoots echoing throughout the woods, before there was a flap of wings and a quiver of leaves and the creature flew off. Though still dark outside, he was warm and he felt safe. Mitch was sound asleep beside him, as quiet as a mouse, no snores here, and he knew the others were close by.

For a few brief moments in that tiny tent before he fell back to sleep he felt like nothing could go wrong; that no matter how bad life might seem at times he would always have these lot to push him through, even if they didn't realise they were helping him at the time. And even his mom; he might not see her a lot but she was still there, they were still together in that shelter. _As long as we're together, something good is going to happen_. That was what she always told him and he still believed that. He still loved her more than anyone else on the planet, even if she wasn't as perfect as he once believed.

 _Things will work out._  They had to.

Little did he know very soon that theory was going to be tested to the absolute limit.


	47. Little Boy Lost

_"I think the saddest people always try their hardest to make people happy because they know what it's like to feel absolutely worthless and they don't want anyone else to feel like that." - Robin Williams_

**Friday 8th May**

_Three days after camping trip..._

On the first day back after Easter break Jeremy didn't expect his students to get back into the full flow of things straight away. Being without a schedule for three weeks meant they were more likely to joke around and not take the lessons seriously. Mitch proved this theory by working through his list of impressions the whole first morning and in the afternoon Kevin refused to put his feet on the floor because he claimed he'd seen a spider scuttling around.

However the one he thought he'd have little issue with was definitely acting up the most. Scott was irritable and barely alert the whole day. Normally Jeremy would have put it down to it being the first day back but unlike most kids his age, Scott had always seemed to enjoy school. But now there was definitely something up with the kid, with the random surges of nervousness and the one point where he almost started crying when Avi had accidentally knocked against his chair and made him draw a line across his equations.

The whole class was confused by the youngest's change of behaviour, and their inability to calm him, even Mitch's sweet words did nothing, but Jeremy reluctantly just put it down to the boy still feeling the affects of their camping trip. Maybe he was suffering from an extremely long hangover or something. He knew he shouldn't have been so lenient with allowing the youngster to drink the alcohol. Scott might be used to it, that didn't mean he should let him.

But at the end of the day, as they were all packing up to go home, things did seem to perk up a little bit. Scott came over and apologised profusely, explaining he was just been acting up because he wished they were still on vacation.

It was very believable, the boy had put on a good show. And Scott was always honest and open, wasn't he?

_Six days after camping trip..._

It became clear he wasn't.

Midway through the week it became apparent that delayed alcohol effects and holiday withdrawal were not the issue here. The boy continued to be just as irritable, if not more, and had thrown a huge tantrum when he couldn't complete all his questions in time, getting so unreasonably worked up that he had been left out of breath and dizzy by the end, the others watching open mouthed as the youngster proceeded to rip up his work.

That was when Jeremy's worry really began to elevate off the charts. As he had taken the boy aside to try and calm him down he suddenly noticed just how skinny the boy was. He had been tiny when Jeremy had first started teaching him but now, as the teacher felt his shaking shoulder bones through the thin t-shirt, he was almost stick-man like. It had been so gradual, it would have to have been for him to only just now be picking up on the change, but looking at Scott's skinny frame now he was sure if he held up a photo of the boy now and one from the start of the year there would be a noticeable difference in weight.

As he stood waiting for the kid's breathing to steady he also noticed how his pale skin looked, flaky and dry on very close inspection and the blond locks were dull, almost straw like in appearance. It was like a knife to the gut as Jeremy suddenly realised how bad Scott's condition had got. How could he have been so blind? How could he not have noticed sooner? And why had none of the others picked up on it either?

There was a simple answer, as much as it sounded like an excuse it was true; because they all knew about the boy's home life they expected him to come in a little rough around the edges some days. Plus with the fact that up until recently the youngster had never acted like anything was wrong himself. But this kid before Jeremy was not just slightly worse for wear. It was clear to Jeremy now that Scott was being severely neglected and that was something that could not continue.

What Jeremy knew he had to do was killing him. But he had to for Scott's sake. No longer were Jeremy's free lunches or any food the others gave him going to be enough for this kid. It was time he called the social services in on this one.

 _Fucking hell._  He knew Scott was going to hate him, the boy loved his mom so dearly, but there really was no other option this time. He couldn't let this go on any longer. He didn't know where the boy lived and Scott didn't own a phone and he had no idea how to contact his mom anymore for him to check up on them. He needed to step in now before the boy got even worse.

He was going to do it that day. He wasn't going to let Scott go back to that shit hole. Except...the boy looked so sad and he had mentioned once or twice that day that his mom wanted to spend some time with him that evening. And knowing this might be the last proper time Scott could spend with her for a while...Jeremy couldn't bring himself to take that away from him. One more day. What was one more day? One more day with his mom and then Jeremy was going to sort everything out.

_Seven days after camping trip..._

But the next day Scott never came in. By midday and with still no sign of him, Jeremy's heart started performing funny somersaults, his eyes darting to the door every time there was the slightest noise. Perhaps the boy was just having a day of rest. Maybe he'd come in tomorrow looking fresh as a daisy. But Jeremy knew he was just lying to himself and found it hard to concentrate the whole day as the feeling of dread in his stomach grew and grew.

His fears finally reached max after he had finished work for the day and was just stepping though his front door only to have his phone ring. It was Avi. The teen was so panicked Jeremy had to get him to repeat his words a few times before he finally got the message.

Heart in his mouth he hung up and ran straight to his TV. He had to see this for himself. He wouldn't believe it until then...

It was all over the news.  _No, no, no_. Jeremy didn't even bother sitting down as he stared at the screen and listened with terrified ears to what the reporter was saying.

_Reports are still unclear as to how and why this attack happened. All we know at this moment is that at approximately two am, a building in the downtown neighbourhood, a place home to many members of The Strikers, was infiltrated by their rivals from The Syndicate. There have yet to be any official numbers released but there are speculations that the death total could be well into the forties. We are only recently getting information on this attack due to it not being reported and investigated until many hours after the incident. With Downtown being an area common for it's...._

At that point Jeremy kind of tuned out of what the newsreader was saying and focused on the bulletins popping up at the bottom. Adults in critical conditions at the hospital, the names of teenagers supposedly killed, the estimated number of young children who would have been present at the time.

He called Avi back some time later, desperate to hear some hopeful news, that Scott was okay and uninjured, that for some reason he hadn't been present at the time, that he'd got in contact with one of them somehow and was safe and sound.

Nothing. There was no news, and Jeremy spent the whole night sitting by the TV, silent tears rolling down his cheeks.

_Fourteen days after camping trip..._

Scott was never found.

The grand total of those murdered that night at the shelter was fifty eight, forty nine from The Strikers and nine of their attackers, including four kids under the age of sixteen. Many more were still in hospital fighting for their lives and an even greater number had simply vanished, people terrified by the events and aware that the danger was far from over.

Scott was one of those who had simply disappeared into thin air, and as guilty as he felt, Jeremy was slightly glad that Scott was caucasian. A missing blond haired, blue eyed boy generated more buzz in the local news than what an African American child might have. It was an awful truth, but right now Jeremy couldn't focus on the atrocities and unfairness of it all, he just wanted his boy back.

All his kids had been distraught. Kirstie blamed herself because it was her family who had been the ones to invade and scare Scott out of his home. The day after she had come into class ghostly pale, the full effect of the start of the gang war apparent on her face. She didn't even try to hide the fact that it terrified her, admitting to them all that she was sickeningly caught up in the middle of the whole affair, all because of the family she'd been born into. She also begged them to believe her when she said she had no idea of the plan to raid the shelter. They all believed her of course. They all knew Kirstie would have risked her own life before anyone dared threaten Scott's.

Kevin spent most of his days scrolling social media and local news to see if anyone had spotted the lost kid. He'd even been asked to provide a photo of Scott, seeing as he had all the most recent ones of the boy on his phone and it was the one he had taken at the zoo restaurant that the police and news ran with. There was also a guy called Michael, who they were all pretty sure was the same neighbour Michael the youngest used to speak about a lot, who had set up an account dedicated to finding the boy. It had reached thousands of likes but had lead them nowhere as of yet. If he didn't want to be found, the blond certainly wouldn't make it easy.

Mitch burst into tears whenever Scott's name was brought up, blaming himself for not spotting how bad things had been with the kid or berating himself up for not saving up and buying the boy a phone so he could have contacted them. As amazing as the idea sounded now, Jeremy had to remind him of the impracticalities of that. If Scott ever owned a phone it would have been lost within seconds, the kid just hadn't cared enough about owning one yet to have looked after it properly. Still, Jeremy kept an extra close eye on the teen, he didn't want this to undo any of the progress the boy had made but knew just how deeply this traumatic event would be hurting him.

The youngest hadn't made it easy though. Whenever anyone ever asked him how things were he'd always reply brightly with an "as awesome as it can be!" And a lot of the time, miraculously, he did always appear full of energy. Only in the last few days before his disappearance had that plummeted to abysmal levels.

And Avi...well, sometimes Jeremy could have sworn the oldest blamed the teacher himself. The teen would always go on about how the authorities should have been alerted sooner and would send accusing glares Jeremy's way. The teacher wanted to explain that that was exactly what he'd been going to do. But going to do wasn't good enough. That fact was that he had been a day too late. He couldn't even defend himself against what Avi was saying because the boy  _was_  correct.

A whole week passed. A whole damn miserable week, until the Friday came and Jeremy walked into his class only to find himself faced with four kids standing on the other side of the door, bags on backs or arms.

Avi was their spokesperson. "We're gonna go and look for Scotty, Mr L. You can't stop us but you can help if you want," the teen told him, narrowing his eyes at Jeremy. "We're just wasting our time in here."

For once, Jeremy didn't think twice about all the reasons why he shouldn't be doing this or how it was completely inappropriate, instead turning swiftly back around, calling over his shoulder: "Where to first?"

They took the number twenty two bus to the shady and dismal area in downtown. It was a depressing place. Great husks of old buildings, grimy roofs with broken tiles, windows staring down, remnants of shattered glass in rotting wooden frames, mortar and stone crumbling, invasive vegetation in walls, black and empty doorways, graffiti, garbage, used syringes, the stink of urine, ghosts of the past. Burned out cars with half melted tires, charred and black inside, metal frames exposed, back blown out where petrol tank exploded. Derelict buildings like rows of broken teeth.

Jeremy shivered despite the heat. This was no place for anyone to live let alone a child.  _Why didn't you just tell us little rascal? I promise we would have got you out of here._  They followed Kirstie through the alley ways as she lead them to the correct address.

"That was the place." The building the girl finally stopped at a large building, or rather complex of buildings, that looked almost the same as the others from the outside. If it weren't for the yellow police tape surrounding it Jeremy might have just passed it off as another rundown shithole. On closer inspection though, he could see the marks the multiple bullets had made on the outer wall and by the main door there was an unmistakable red stain that could only have come from something living. Or at least they were living at the time.

"Shit..." he heard Kevin utter from behind him, and the young man was too busy thinking pretty much the same thing to take notice of the unexpected foul language.

"Yeah. So much for a safe house," Avi muttered, peering anxiously around him. The boy was definitely not accustomed to neighbourhoods like this one. Neither was Jeremy really.

"Poor Scotty," Mitch worried, sounding like he was about to burst into tears again at any second. "He must've been so scared."

They didn't want to stick around the area for long, as it became apparent that anyone living here or nearby had long since scarpered, these streets didn't just look dead; there was literally no life here. There was no way the blond would have stayed here, no matter how tough he tried to act. So that was this idea out of the window.

Despite feeling utterly defeated Kirstie turned back around to them with a determined expression on her face. "Guys, where would you go from here if you were a nine year old boy?"

Avi scratched his growing beard in thought. "The subway's not too far away," he suggested but the young girl was quick to dismiss that theory.

"No, he wouldn't want to go somewhere he would feel trapped." She spoke with an in-depth knowledge and began pacing up and down the police tape. "If he was smart he'd get as far away from any ghetto controlled areas as possible, but he'd be walking, walking allows for a quick escape," she added. "It's not like he's skipped town," she assured them.

Mitch pinched the bridge of his nose, deep in thought, the question somewhat of a welcome distraction from the scene before him. "Uptown," he snapped his fingers together decisively. "Haymarket area?" he asked, looking to Kirstie hopefully.

The girl's eyes lit up. "Yeah," she agreed, nodding her head. "He knows those streets! Spent a lot of the Christmas holidays there. I used to see him out after midnight."

_So that finally answers the question about where the little rascal was. Mingling with the tourists were you?_

It was a long shot. If what Kirstie predicted was correct, the Haymarket would be a hell of a walk from this part of downtown. But there was no saying what lengths a terrified child would go to in order to get away from whatever nightmare they had witnessed. If anything it was worth a shot and they didn't really have anything else to go on right now.

"Let's get going then before it gets too crowded there," he spoke up, quickly ushering them all back down the street and away from the remnants of the massacre.

Unlike what Scott supposedly would've done, they all took the subway to Haymarket and were instantly met with a barrage of slow-moving tourists, and dazzling bright lights from high-end stores.

 _Ugh, there's a reason I never come here_ , Jeremy thought as they got stuck behind a large group of tourists who insisted at moving one step per ten seconds.  _We'll barely be able to search one street at this rate. Maybe we should split up...no it's bad enough I've taken them all out of school, I'm not gonna lose another one!_

"I wish I had a gun," Kirstie complained as they continued to travel at a snail's pace. "Just push through!" she ordered to Mitch as the skinny teen once again got knocked aside by a lady's purse.

"Wait!" Kevin called out before the teens could start a riot. "That!"

"That what Kevin?" Jeremy queried.

"Basketball!" Kevin cried, jumping up and down, pointing to the signs directing people to the newly built sporting village. Actually they were still in the process of building it, getting ready for some sporting event the city was hosting in two years time but the basketball courts were already completed, not that people ever really came to Haymarket to play sport, unless that spot was shop until you drop.

"Now's not the best time kid," Mitch sighed.

"No!" Kevin exclaimed. "It's the last thing me and Scott talked about. He was sayin' me and him should come by here soon to check them out y'know," he informed them, a hopeful expression on his face.

Kirstie considered the signs. "It wouldn't be too far away from all these crowds but still fairly quiet," she pointed out, knowing Scott wouldn't have wanted to completely isolate himself from civilisation.

"And that areas clean and safe as far as I know," Mitch added, the gleam of hope also beginning to burn bright in his chocolate brown eyes as well. 

Avi nodded decisively. "We're not going to get much searching done here," he agreed. "C'mon," he started quick stepping it towards their new destination.

Jeremy was hot on his heels. "Good call Kevin," he praised, giving the boy a pat on the shoulder.

"I just hope it's the right one," the youngster mumbled, trotting quickly to the front of the pack. Very true; they were running out of time and as much as Jeremy wanted to find Scott, he couldn't allow his students to be wandering the streets every day.

The group scoured what was basically a building site, searching every open building and checking out the new courts. Mitch wasn't wrong when he'd said the area was clean. It didn't feel like the same city as they walked through un-littered pathways and idyllic parks. But after an hour of searching what felt like every corner of the whole place there was still no sign of the youngest and Jeremy along with his students was coming to realise this probably not the correct location.

_What was I thinking? Why would I think we'd find him just like that?_

But just as they were about to give up all hope and head back with their tails between their legs, fate threw them a lifeline and Avi all of a sudden zoned in on one location, bellowing "over there!" and pointing to a stack of building materials near the construction site.

Jeremy squinted and followed the boy's finger and, with the utmost relief, saw that there indeed was his youngest, sitting almost completely hidden amongst the wooden planks and cement bags, looking like he had nothing left in the world.

He didn't think he'd ever ran faster in his life, worried that if he took too long the boy would fade like a mirage in his eyes, and with his long legs he reached Scott's position before the rest of them. The blond hadn't noticed him yet, eyes focused on the distant shoppers that could be spotted through the trees, and Jeremy took a second to scan over the kid's appearance. The little boy's eyes were red and puffy from crying and his clothes and hair were a mess. He wouldn't have looked out of place if he'd been dropped as a street urchin into some Charles Dickens novel. Jeremy was surprised the youngster hadn't already been picked up by authorities with the state he was in.

_That's the major problem with our city. Too many people are happy to just walk on by, even when children are involved._

He padded softly over to the distracted youngster.

"Scott?" he gently addressed the boy, trying hard to stop himself from choking up.

The boy spun is head around and blinked heavily. "Guys?" He asked and looked up blearily as the other's caught up to them, bewildered by the sudden and unexpected attention on him.

Jeremy approached him cautiously so as not to spook him. He knew Scott trusted him completely but after what the boy had been through in the past week he was taking no chances. "Hey kiddo, we've all been worried sick about you,' he hushed, kneeling in front of him.

The boy blinked slowly once more and Jeremy noticed there was a slight glaze across the baby blues, and his pale skin was also looking more grey than white. The kid was definitely not well at all.

"Holy shit," he heard Kirstie whimper behind him as the rest of the kids got a look at Scott's sickly figure.

He gazed up at them all. "My place got raided," he stated simply and Jeremy got even more worried by how unresponsive the youngster was.

"Why didn't you come to school? Where's your mom?" Mitch questioned, kneeling next to Jeremy.

The only answer they got to that query was the blond falling curling up even further into a ball, completely in hysterics. Jeremy wasted no time in grabbing the boy and bundling him into his arms, trying to make sounds of comfort for the wailing child. 

He was light, way too light, and once again Jeremy wanted to kick himself for how oblivious he had been. How had he not seen the signs? The boy had looked like skin and bones the day before he disappeared and the expected growth spurt still hadn't occurred. If anything, the kid was shrinking in on himself, just a scrawny little shadow of his former self.

The other kids worry had barely faded even after finding him. The boy was the kid brother none of them had and seeing him like this, so far gone from his normal happy self, was disturbing for all of them. He could see in each of the young faces that they were scared. And still the little boy kept on crying.

Jeremy carried on rocking the kid, wincing every time he felt a rib jutting out from under the boy's t-shirt until the boy stopped crying almost instantly. The young teacher looked down and was alarmed to see the boy's eyes drooping shut. He was no doctor but he assumed having the youngster fall asleep in the state he was in right now was not recommended.

"Scotty, c'mon buddy, stay awake for me!"

"M'tired," the boy mumbled sleepily.

"I know, I know," the teacher whispered, bouncing the youngster around a bit in his arms, in the hope to jolt some energy into him. "I just need you to hold on for a little longer okay?" He turned back to the others. "He needs a hospital," he informed them seriously. "Now."

Avi as always was his right hand man. "I'll call a cab," he said, his fingers already dialling number. "Yeah there's six of us," he heard the teen say as he walked away to talk.

Jeremy heard sniffles beside him and peaked down to see tears streaming from his youngest teen's eyes. "I...he..." the boy spluttered, too distraught to be coherent.

"Oh Mitch," he put a comforting arm around the boy as he began silently sobbing.

The boy in his arms also noted the tears coming from his best friend but was too disoriented to react normally, and instead just appeared confused. "S'everyone here?" he questioned Jeremy.

"Yeah, yeah we're all here little rascal."

"Why?"

The young man swallowed back the lump in his throat. "Cause we came to find you," he answered, unable to stop his voice cracking at the end.

"Oh..." the little boy replied in awe, then met Jeremy's concerned eyes "found me, now it's your turn to hide," he said with the slightest of grins, but it was a grin all the same and it made him look so much more like the Scott he was used too. That was until a look of pain crossed his gaunt features.

"What's the matter?" Jeremy fussed. "Are you hurt?"

"It won't get better," the boy answered and held up his palm for everyone to look at. There was a long, nasty looking jagged cut that - judging from it's colouring - was probably infected. The dirty rag the youngster had improvised as a bandage most likely had something to do with that.

Mitch wiped his eyes and gently took the smaller hand in his. "He had this on the camping trip," he told Jeremy. "It was a lot smaller then though, almost like a paper cut."

 _His body doesn't even have enough in it to heal tiny wounds,_  Jeremy thought sadly, and was yet again disgusted that here was another obvious sign he had missed indicating that something was seriously wrong.

"I'm sorry kiddo. I'm sorry I didn't do anything," he spoke into the child's dry hair, uncaring of how unkempt it might be.

"Think I'ma sleep now," the boy murmured once again.

"No no no, c'mon Scott it won't be long now," Jeremy urged desperately.

"Hey Scott let's play a game alright?" Mitch stood on his tip-toes to speak to the blond, attempting a brave face. "You'll play a game with me?" he asked, pleading with his large brown eyes.

Jeremy felt the boy in his arms give a tiny huff before he gave in to his friend's begging. "S'long as it's not the lying game."

The bewildered look on all the other kids faces let Jeremy know he wasn't the only one who had no idea what that game was.

"What about the Say Anything game? I bet I can win this time!" Kevin bet, forcing out a cheeky smile.

The boy went silent again and Jeremy was worried he truly had gone to sleep this time, but then... "Chicken," Scott quietly said. Never had the young man been happier to hear the word chicken.

Between them they managed to keep the youngster awake until the cab arrived and Jeremy offered the driver double the fare if the he got them to the hospital in half the time.

"Is he gonna be alright?" Kevin asked him as the youngest was kept alert by playing a game on the teacher's phone. He wan't paying any attention to what they were saying. It was like he could only cope with one activity at a time for now.

"I don't know," he smiled sadly down at Scott who was wedged in between him and Mitch. "But we've found him, that's what's important."

"Yeah, you keep telling that to yourself Mr L," a voice opposite him muttered and Jeremy lifted his head to see Avi glaring at him with blame filled green eyes.

Mitch pursed his lips. "We  _all_  could'a done something Avi," he reminded the older boy, arm wrapped tightly around the youngest's shoulders, like he was afraid he would vanish again if he let go.

"But  _he's_  the one with authority, and  _he's_  the one who's meant to take care of us," Avi growled, jabbing an angry finger in Jeremy's direction.

"Mr L is better than all the other teachers I've ever had combined," the young teen leant forward to defend his teacher from Avi's verbal attack. "Don't take your guilt out on him unless you want to come through me first."

Mitch's glare was a warning he was not joking around and Avi sighed, sending Jeremy another condescending look. "Sorry to tell you Mitch but he doesn't see us in the same light, isn't that right?"

Kirstie frowned. "What does he mean?"

Jeremy himself was also confused. "Avi, I don't see–"

"You mean you don't remember telling me you never wanted this job and were looking for a new one?"

_Oh._

Mitch turned to him, looking even more concerned if that were possible. "Is that true?" he whispered.

"You're leaving us?" Kirstie exclaimed in disbelief.

"No it's not true!" Jeremy finally found his tongue and set about correcting them all "I might've had a look at the start of the year but that's certainly not the case any more!" he insisted.

Avi sneered at him. "Oh yeah it that right?" he shot back.

"Yeah, actu–"

"Guys shut up! That's not what's important right now."

They all turned as Kevin of all people became the one who used his words to calm everyone down, motioning towards the youngest who had glanced up at them with a blank, perhaps slightly confused gaze.

Mitch hurriedly started singing a song loudly to keep the boy alert and they all silently agreed to shut up with their previous argument for now. There would be a time and a place to argue, a time for Jeremy to explain to them that never would he ever dream of leaving them, especially now.

At the moment they all just needed confirmation that the youngster was going to be okay. Jeremy for one knew he wouldn't be able to sleep easy at night until they had their Scott back, laughing and messing around as usual; but with all that the kid had been through, he suspected that might be a lot easier said than done.


	48. Together Again

_A DEFINITION NOT FOUND IN THE DICTIONARY - Not leaving: an act of trust and love, often deciphered by children. - Markus Zusak, The Book Thief_

**Later that day...**

It was a good three hours later before they were eventually given an update on Scott's condition, having charged through the ER doors, the boy almost unconscious in Mr L's arms, and having him whisked away by a team with no word on how serious it was and when they could see him again.

Sitting in the waiting room, watching over kids Scott's age wander round with normal childlike injuries and ailments - broken arms or minor cuts - he had needed Kevin as distraction to keep him from working himself up too much; the boy managing to entertain them all in spite of circumstances, keeping up an enviable energy, no double espresso included.

The moment Scott's name was called out however, they were all instantly alert. "He's receiving parenteral nutrition due to the severity of malnutrition," the doctor told them, who Kevin had explained was called a gastroenterologist - someone who specialised in digestive conditions, including malnutrition - as they all sat upright on the stiff backed chairs in the friends and relatives room. "It's a way to deliver nutrients directly into his bloodstream through a drip in his vein. With everything else it's just going to be a lot more comfortable for him that way. He's not too happy about it but we should only need to keep him on it overnight."

Despite everything Mitch had to smile at that part because he could imagine the youngster was going to be trying all sorts of tricks in his extensive book to get unattached from the hospital machine. Either that or charming the nurses into just taking it out for him. He leaned forward in his chair to make sure he heard everything the doctor was telling him. It was kind of noisy in the waiting room, and it reminded Mitch of the day, so long ago now, at the start of the year, when he and Scott had waited in a very similar room, for a very different situation.

"Afterwards we can slowly reintroduce him onto a normal diet until his condition stabilises," the doctor continued to explain. "I can't say for certain but right now we're hoping he shouldn't need to stay longer than three days, and then we can have a district nurse monitor him to decide when he's ready to go back to school."

 _That's still three days too long._  Scott didn't belong in a place like this. He hated it, Mitch knew he did, even in the children's ward where everything was decorated to look as cheerful as possible, Scott was never happy with staying in one place for too long, at least not here.

"Any idea when that might be? Mr L asked.

The doctor made a gesture to show he was unsure. "That really depends on how quickly he's able to make a good recovery," he told the teacher. "And of course you must understand that it's not only the physical side of things we're concerned about..."

Mitch nodded seriously, a mirror image of the others. All they could do right now was speculate over what Scott had been through from what they'd seen on the news and the overall state of the boy when they'd found him. Nightmarish stuff Mitch didn't want to think about but knew he was going to have to in order to help his best friend. Coupled with the fact that Scott's "little annoying cough" had turned out to be acute bronchitis, having most likely developed from a nasty cold, although the doctors had told them being exposed to smoke and the dampness of the shelter probably hadn't helped. If it had been left untreated any longer it could have developed even further into pneumonia...no, the kid wasn't going to be feeling up to much for a while.

_How did I not see?_

Mitch wondered when his best friend had become so hard to read. Or perhaps none of them had just been paying enough attention, looking no further past than what the boy wanted them to see. Mitch wanted to blame his long work shifts and the ache in his joints every night as he tried to get to sleep, of the stress that came from worrying about his dad still battling for a justice Mitch didn't quite understand; and the even greater pain that came every time he looked at his mom and saw her fading more and more into nothingness, a spectre drifting around the house, morose and quiet and cold.

But at the end of the day, the only person to blame was himself. He knew he needn't place the blame on any of the others, they would be doing that enough themselves. They'd been given a second chance though, a chance to make up for their errors and misjudgements, and Mitch for one was not going to fuck it up this time.

He stood up before Avi had even finished his sentence. "Can we see him?" the boy had asked the question they were all dying to know the answer to and Mitch was staring up at the doctor, imagining he could will the answer he wanted out of the man. He wasn't quite sure what would have happened if the doctor had said no, but envisioned his slender frame putting up quite a fight before getting unceremoniously escorted away by security.

Fortunately the doctor glanced to the side nervously, adjusting his glasses slightly before telling them at a reduced volume. "I'm only meant to allow two at a time but...go on then," he allowed the little group to follow him, taking them out of the waiting room and through one child's ward until they reached the private rooms.

Waiting anxiously as the doctor reached for the correct door handle, Mitch tried to get a brief preview of what he was about to see through the windows, however the curtains were currently drawn to allow for some privacy and all of a sudden Mitch didn't want to be the first one in, the unknowingness of it all raising his anxiety to the sky. Hanging back he allowed the older teens to be the first through, receiving an understanding squeeze on the shoulder from Kirstie, and allowed Kevin to push him gently forward, the younger boy clearly excited more than anything just to check up on his friend, earning a small smile from the doctor as he stood by propping the door open.

"Just be very quiet young man," the man said softly to him, who clearly had a load of pent up nervous energy that was going to be hard for him to keep on a leash when he was so used to messing and joking around with the youngest.

Ever the model student, Kevin gave the doctor a curt nod, pressing his finger to his lips. "I'll be as quiet as a mouse wearing socks," he whispered, earning him another chuckle from both adults. Mitch would normally have laughed too at the boy's strange metaphors but he was more busy focusing on where he was placing his feet, afraid that he might collapse the moment he lost concentration. Glancing around he found himself in a room separated in half by a blue curtain, the half they currently occupied was fairly bare, with just a few chairs and kids games scattered around, as well as a door that presumably lead to a bathroom.

Behind the blue curtain was where his friend was. Scared, tired and very unwell, but alive, and the young teen managed by the skin of his teeth to wait a little bit longer as the doctor and Mr L shared a few quiet words.

"Just to let you know, we've contacted the police and the social services," the doctor had informed the teacher as he walked through the door.

Mitch saw Mr L purse his lips into a tight smile. "Yes, of course. Thank you doctor," he responded softly, clearly grateful although Mitch knew the young man wished with all his heart that he'd been the one to make that latter call.

The man gave him a small nod, before sending an encouraging smile to the kids as he walked over to the curtain and drew it back slightly so he could talk.

"Hello Scott, I've got some people here who would really like to see you," he spoke in a kindly tone, a smile in his voice. "Is that okay?"

The boy must have nodded his reply for it was silent as the doctor turned back around and gestured that they had the go ahead, leaving himself to give them some much needed privacy.

Avi was the first one there, closing the distance in three long strides and pulling the curtain steadily aside so as not to startle the boy, revealing the two parties to one another again. One glance at the figure lying there and Mitch's world both shattered and glowed at the same time; Scott always making his life seem brighter even when the boy himself was at his lowest. Swaying from the tidal wave of emotions bombarding him, the teen had to reach out a hand to Kevin in order to steady himself. The younger boy didn't need to ask to know what Mitch needed, carefully walking him towards the bed, making sure he didn't stumble or simply fall down and cry.

You could hear a pin drop. No one spoke a word and Scott was keeping his gaze averted, purposefully facing ahead. He looked small, even smaller than normal, the bed almost looking ready to swallow him whole. He was dressed in a standard child's hospital gown, his clothes packed up tightly in plastic bags on the cupboard next to him, and the TV was on - it was what the blond was staring at, propped up by the bed - playing some kids show Mitch failed to recognise, but judging from the faraway look in the blond's eyes, he was paying little attention to it.

"Hey Scotty," Kevin was the first to engage in conversation, slightly nervously as if he wasn't sure if he was allowed to.

Nothing.

At first it seemed they were going to have to coax Scott out of his dazed state but then, ever so slowly, the youngster turned his head towards the group, blue eyes still dull and glazed over in fever, blinking heavily as he watched them hover by anxiously.

"Hi."

There was a certain unnerving lack of emotion to the boy's reply, although that could have been because he was stocked up a ton of antibiotics, his body needing every bit of extra help in order to keep functioning properly. His left hand was wrapped heavily in bandages, white fabric that Mitch knew hid the deep infected cut on his palm. Out of all the things, that had been the one the doctors had fussed over first, as apparently there was a high risk of Scott's blood turning septic which was a definite danger zone they wanted to avoid. At least now, with it neatly covered up, Mitch could imagine it hid nothing more than a graze, rather than an injury that was going to almost certainly leave a scar.

And then there was the catheter in his forearm, abnormally large against the skinny limb, the tubing leading directly from his arm to the iv stand next to the bed, wherein a large bag containing a cloudy white fluid was being fed into him.

 _Keeping him alive_ , Mitch thought in terror. It was frightful to think about. What if they hadn't found him that day? What if no one had found him in time?  _No. Stop thinking about the 'what if's', I've got to be strong._

Mr L was the first one daring enough to ask the question. "How're you feeling?"

Blank stares were all they received in reply, until it was like a switch was flipped in the boy's mind, and all the emotion came flooding out at once. "I w-want m-my mom," the little boy whimpered, tears forming in his eyes at record speed.

They all had lumps in their throats as the tiny blond burst out crying in front of them, face crumpling as he made no attempts to hide his tears, his wailing sounding painfully hoarse as the stress his lungs were under increased from the sudden upset.

"I want my mom and I want to go back to my old home and I don't want none of these tube thingies in me!" the boy yelled, voice croaking as he struggled for breath in between his words and tears.

And at his cries of pain, all of a sudden Mitch's body just kicked into automatic, forgetting any anxiety and inhibitions of his own, he was dashing over and quickly but carefully climbing onto the bed next to his friend, pulling the distressed boy into his arms.

"Shh, it's alright, it's alright," he comforted as best he could, rubbing circles into the blond's back as he cradled him against him. "It's alright, it's alright," he continued murmuring until the cries died down somewhat and the youngster's breathing settled back into a steadier rhythm.

Scott sniffed loudly and buried his head further into Mitch's chest. "I don't mean to shout," he mumbled after he'd had the chance to calm down more, voice still sounding on the verge of more tears.

Mitch continued to rock him back and forth. "It's okay sweetheart, shh don't worry," he whispered, vowing: "I'm not gonna let anything bad happen to you." Movement from a few feet away reminded him that they weren't actually alone, and his cheeks reddened slightly as he glanced over at his friends and teacher, who were still standing by, wide eyed with concern but at the same time gracing the two with a little moment together they both needed.

After a few more deep breaths, the youngster leaned back and gazed up at him with large, damp eyes, studying the older boy's face for a few seconds before he asked: "You okay?"

Mitch didn't know whether to laugh or cry. That had been the first emotion other than sadness or despair that the boy had shown since they first found him; and it had been concern. And it had been concern for him.

He reached out and brushed the hair off Scott's forehead. "Yeah I'm absolutely fine," Mitch assured him, the words all coming out in one rushed whisper as he grabbed hold of the boy once more and pulled him close. "Now that I've found you, everything's great," he promised, speaking into Scott's hair. It was tangled and definitely in need of a good wash, but right then Mitch did not give a damn.

He was here. He was safe. He was alive.

A minute or so passed, the two boys just wrapped in one another's embrace, seeking solitude in each other's arms, until Mitch himself began to sweat from the youngster's fever high temperature, reluctantly pulling away but not letting go, and Scott eventually managed to turn his gaze to the others. "I'm sorry for lying about liking where I was living," was the first thing he said to them. "I didn't, I hated it." He hung his head in shame, fiddling with the tightly wrapped bandage on his hand.

No one was angry in the slightest of course, and Mr L gave him a warm smile as he crouched down beside the bed so that his head was level with Scott's. "You never lied kiddo, you just didn't tell us the truth," he said, ruffling the boy's hair.

The blond tilted his head, confusion etched across his face. "Ain't that the same?" he asked.

The teacher paused, thinking through how he was supposed to explain what he meant. "Maybe...but you never lied out of spite, it was never calculated..." he proclaimed, before taking the boy's hands in his. "I shouldn't have left it up to you to come to me.  _I'm_  meant to look after  _you_ , that's  _my_  job."

He was sincere in his regret and for a moment Mitch thought the young man was going to burst into tears as well, but he managed to compose himself long enough for the Scott to give him something that could just about pass for a half smile. "We don' make it ve'y easy huh?" he drawled, the high dose of antibiotics making his speech even less enunciated than usual, but from the grin on Mr L's face you would have thought it was the most amazing thing he'd ever heard.

Sighing, the young boy gave them all a pitiful look. "I tried to tell you a few times but," he shrugged slightly, "I dunno, I never got the right words."

Avi stepped forward now, face serious. "Even if you think it's nothing, even if you think it's gonna sound stupid or meaningless," he began, looking the boy directly in the eyes. "Even if you think you're trying to protect us by not telling us," he added and they all noticed how that struck a particular chord with the blond, as his eyes widened in surprise. Avi did smile then, as warm as ever. "We always want to know Scotty," he promised. "Don't ever be afraid or embarrassed of coming to one of us."

Scott nodded, bottom lip quivering as he gazed up, taking note of each of their faces. The week of intense worry still visible even though they were trying to put on a cheerful show for his sake. "I'm sorry," he apologised again in a small voice.

"No." Mitch jumped slightly as Kirstie suddenly spoke up, stepping out from behind Avi, expression contorted into such an extreme degree of self loathing that she could have been mistaken for being pure angry. "I'm sorry," she said firmly. "I'm sorry Scott it's all my fault, if I hadn't-"

"Wha'ever you're gonna say Kirstie, I don' agree wit' ya," Scott chimed in wearily before the girl had got up to full speed.

"Yeah, none of us do," Avi added, wrapping his arm around the girl's shoulders and kissing the top of her head. "For all you know, your actions saved his life," he insisted in a hushed voice.

Mitch wasn't quite sure what that meant. Obviously he knew Kirstie wasn't responsible for her family's dastardly actions, but what was Avi talking about when he spoke of  _her_  actions? He was going to bring it up but he was beaten by the tired boy next to him speaking up again. "You always look out for me," Scott told Kirstie pointedly. "I know that."

 _Now's not the time_ , he noted. Whatever Kirstie had done Mitch was always willing to give her the benefit of the doubt and believe she had acted in Scott's best interests and taken the best action possible, whatever is was.

For herself, Kirstie still didn't seem convinced, but she allowed herself to be muted into silent agreement for the time being, turning to watch the TV while the others made small talk, Kevin in particular was very interested in all the machinery surrounding the youngest. Neither Mitch or Scott said much, both content in each other's company, and Mitch could tell his friend was getting tired after only ten minutes of listening.

He was going to ask Scott if he wanted them to shut up so he could get some sleep, however the decision was made for them as the same doctor from earlier came back in and gave them their marching orders.

"All right, I'm going to have to ask kindly for some of you to leave now," he requested in a compassionate tone but one that was not to be messed with. "Two can stay for a bit longer if they wish."

Absolutely Mitch was staying as long as he could and Mr L quickly made the decision for the others, taking Kevin by the arm and dragging him away from the medical equipment and motioning for Kirstie to follow him too. "Mitch, Avi, you two stay," he instructed. "We'll go and get us some food."

That sounded like a pretty good idea. Mitch hadn't realised how hungry he was until he thought about it now. He'd skipped breakfast as usual but by this time of day he would normally have eaten lunch and various snacks in between. He mused in horror about what Scott must have felt like, going without food for days. Were the hunger pains a constant black hole throughout his day or had he somehow grown used to it, learning to push it to one side? So many questions Mitch needed to know the answers to, no matter how much the replies might hurt him.

 Not now though. Now was a time to recover. They all needed a break after this week of hell. Mitch slid off the bed and into the chair next to it instead, the room now considerably quieter. He watched in silence as his young friend appeared to drift off into some state of uneasy slumber, the gaps between his eyes closing and opening again getting longer and longer until the pale lids remained permanently shut.

Even once Scott's breathing had slowed and his eyes had been shut for a good while, Mitch did not make any movements to leave, and neither he nor Avi could find any words to say to each other. Not only because they feared they might wake the youngest but also due to what had transpired in the panicked cab ride to the hospital, of Avi's unexpected accusations against their teacher.

 _Who would have thought?_   _Me being the first one to defend Mr L._  Mitch still didn't really get the gist of where Avi's sudden accusations had stemmed from. He assumed there must have been some truth to them otherwise the older boy wouldn't have worked himself up into such a state, but as far as he could see, Mr L was with them for the long run. Mitch knew in his heart the man wasn't like other teachers, it had already been proved to him on multiple occasions. He only need think back to the day the man had chased him down the freeway only to give him a lift home, to know the guy was always on their side.

The accusations had also kind of thrown him when it came to Avi. Despite the banter he relished partaking in with the oldest, he genuinely did enjoy Avi's company. Green eyed jealously of the boy's seemingly easy lifestyle initially being the motivation behind his teasing, the pure enjoyment he got from bouncing off the other teen's good natured humour had taken over. Mitch would call him a lumberjack, Avi would say he was a diva, Mitch would respond by calling him stiffdick, which in turn earned him a bitchface; and they were the nicer names. It was all just in good fun.

He had always thought the term mild-mannered defined Avi as a person, but the teen in the car had been anything but, a rage Mitch hadn't thought the boy was capable of flaring up in a split second, a fiery glimmer in his eyes that, for a few brief moments, had scared the younger boy. It had been a pure unrestrained anger, the type of emotion that didn't just build up from nowhere but was brewed and cultivated for a long time, just waiting to boil up.

And Mitch knew at that point, he knew that Avi's life was far from what he'd imagined it to be. No one who was happy had that much rage burning up inside of them. The boy's father...and his father, connected by some deal that was slowly resurfacing again. Did Avi's father know his own dad was scheming against him? Was that fear being taken out on Avi? As much as Mitch wanted justice for his own dad and the supposed thousands of others who were affected by the Emerson deal, he didn't want Avi getting hurt as a result of it.

Glancing towards the older boy opposite him, he was relieved to find that any spark of anger was currently well hidden away, the teen a picture of perfect serenity as he thumbed through one of the bedside magazines.

To the left of Avi's shoulder, Scott's famed dog tags had been removed and were sat next to his clothes. It didn't seem right. Those tags were as much a part of the boy as any body part and Mitch was pretty certain he'd never actually seen the blond without them before. His hat's gone too. Mitch knew it was stupid, but he was low key upset Scott didn't have it on him, it was just another item that would help the boy look more like he used to.

 _Don't be so selfish_ , he chastised himself.  _It's not like he lost it on purpose._

The teen continued to watch the boy in silence, a silent guard keeping vigil, making note of every breath in and out the youngster made. That was until a small voice spoke up beside him. "I can feel you staring at me," Scott mumbled tiredly, his eyes still shut.

Mitch leaned forward so he could rest his arms on the bed. "Thought you'd gone to sleep."

"Tried to, didn't really work," Scott replied with a small smile, cracking one lid open, but the undertones of exactly why he couldn't get to sleep hung in the air like a black cloud.

Sniffing loudly brought Mitch's attention to the fact that boy's nose was also running quite a bit, infection in full fight back against the drugs, and so Mitch reached over to grab a handful of tissues before cleaning Scott up, smirking at the eye roll he received.

_You've got enough energy spare to do that at least._

"Were you two fighting earlier?" Scott asked the two older boys while his nose was being wiped, almost gaining a whole mouthful of tissue paper as a result.

 _So he did pick up on it_. Mitch made sure to send a hard glare Avi's way as he stood up to put the tissue in the trash. No amount of shit the teen had going on excused his earlier attitude.

"No," he assured Scott. "Just a little disagreement was all, silly teenage stuff."

Scott nodded, accepting Mitch's answer at face value and then deciding he would rather start picking frustratedly at the catheter in his arm, making Mitch glad that the thing was tightly secured in and not about to pop out and spray whatever it was around the room.

"Stop it," Avi gently reprimanded, tapping the boy gently on his fidgeting hand.

"You try having it sticking in you," Scott whinged in retort, sinking into his pillow.

"Hey, c'mon," Avi nudged him playfully. "It's just for a day midget man."

Avi's easy going response had the desired reaction, and all of a sudden Scott was very interested in the object supposedly feeding him, rather than determined to destroy it.

"It's weird. Like I'm eating but I'm eating through my arm," he told the two. "And my arm can't taste nothing!"

Avi smiled and nodded. "True," he agreed, "you could be eating  _anything_  right now."

Scott's eyes lit up, the slightest change making him look healthier. "Wha' d'you think's in there?" he encouraged Avi to guess.

Avi scratched his stubble in consideration. "Oh I dunno, a burger, maybe some fries," he speculated. "Strawberry milkshake?"

Scott smiled, pleased with that estimation.

"What do you think is in there?" Mitch asked, joining in, happy the conversation was one which seemed to keep a content expression upon Scott's face.

"Umm..." the boy appeared to think hard on the subject, but Mitch instantly recognized the cheeky glint of mischief in his blue eyes and the smirk tugging at the corners of his lips. "Poop."

Mitch immediately put on his best horrified and disgusted face, exclaiming in mock shock: "So you think they're pumping  _poop into you_?"

The reaction was instantaneous, the high pitched squeal of laughter dancing around the room like a hummingbird, a much needed refreshing sound to Mitch's ears.

"Yep!" Scott giggled, grossing Mitch out still apparently high on his list of entertainment. It was short lived however, the boy cutting off his laughter so abruptly it was like he was reminding himself he was not supposed to be laughing, that feeling joy was not permitted after the terrors he had witnessed.

"I'm scared Mitchy," he whispered, staring down and picking at the hospital wrist band instead of the catheter. "What's going to happen to me?"

"I-"

Mitch had no idea how to answer that one but before he had a chance to respond there was a knock on the door and two cops entered, followed closely by Scott's doctor, who's earlier friendly expression had soured somewhat. "Sorry to interrupt," the elder of the two new men addressed them, "but we were wondering if young Scott here had a moment to answer a few questions?"

"Alone," the younger one added, face considerably sterner. "We always find it more effective that way."

Uncertainty spread across the nine year old's face and his gaze flicked between Mitch and the two strangers. "What questions?" he asked, body stiffening.

Mitch took in the doctor's face; he didn't seem too pleased, but as much as he wanted an excuse to not leave, Mitch knew he had to let the police do their job, it was important for Scott to tell them anything he knew, and perhaps it was best to get it over and done with quickly. "Nothing bad I promise kiddo. They just want you to try and help them put together a puzzle," he explained, trying to make it seem as least threatening as possible.

"Yeah like a Rubiks Cube Scotty," Avi put in. "You're good at those, aren't you?"

Scott looked up at them with puppy dog eyes. He didn't trust the police officers, probably had little reason to. He trusted Mitch though, and he trusted Avi, so in the end that trust won him over. "Kay," he agreed, lifting his head high, trying to show he was not afraid.

With a lingering stare on the two cops, Mitch slowly left the room behind Avi. He just hoped those guys knew what they were doing. Spotting Mr L leaning against the wall a few paces down the hallway, Mitch ambled over to him, smiling gratefully as the teacher handed him a coffee and a bag of chips. "What are they gonna ask him?" he queried, wondering if the man had any words with the officers before they entered.

Mr L pulled an unsure face. "Couldn't get much out of them. Hoping he can help them locate his mother," he informed, frowning a little. "Seems she's pretty important in this whole mess."

Mitch tried to think up theories of what Scott's mom could have been up to; of the chain of events that had lead them to this hallway, in this hospital, on this day. Nothing obvious came to mind. Scott had always spoken of his mom in the most idealistic of ways, and even though he knew children could idolize their parents beyond reality, he couldn't imagine a woman who deliberately skipped meals to try and feed her son doing anything that would put him in danger unless she had no other choice.

"What  _is_  going to happen to him Mr L?" he asked, unable to keep the childlike whine out of his voice.

The teacher gave him a sad smile. "He'll have to be taken into care, at least until his mom is found."

"What if they never find her? Will he have to stay in foster care?"

"Well Mitch...even if they do find her, with the state he's in, I doubt they'd let Scott go back with her."

Mitch let that settle in. "Shit, that's not gonna go down well."

"Nope."

Mitch was about to ask how they were supposed to tell him when the cries from the same boy rang out from inside the room. "Leave me alone!" Scott was shouting as Mitch dashed back towards the door, wordlessly throwing his food and drink back to his teacher. "I don't wanna talk to nobody! Mitchy!" The teen was already in the room as the final call of distress pierced the air.

Mitch's heart was racing as he ran back over to Scott, who was curled up as small as possible into a ball, cowering from the two cops who were trying their utmost to appear as unthreatening as possible, hands in the air like they themselves were under arrest. A choked cry forced itself up the youngster's throat, a tear drop running down his cheek as his doctor untangled the wires that had become wrapped up around his arm.

Mitch turned to the two officers with what he hoped was a placating look. "Give us a moment?" he pleaded, and to their credit they both nodded and calmly left the room, Scott's doctor following behind telling them that they should have listened to him when he said it was too early for questioning or that they should have allowed someone else to sit in.

 _Hmm, looks like I've become to trusting in authorities again_ , Mitch noted.  _Idiot. I should never have left._

The teen climbed back onto his previous position on the bed and pulled the crying young boy close to him, so he was practically sitting on him, being mindful of the wires so he wouldn't get tangled up again.

"You know what Scott?" he questioned softly, not expecting an answer of any form, continuing straight away, "When I first met you I thought you were just some annoying little kid whose biggest problems would be missing his favourite TV show." He rubbed his hand up an down the boy's shaking arm, leaning in closer so his mouth was level with Scott's ear. "But now I think I know more than anyone what your biggest problem is Scotty, you wanna hear it?" he whispered and received the smallest of nods in return. He smiled, running a gentle hand through the boy's hair as a tear ran down his own cheek. "Your heart's just that extra little bit bigger than the rest of ours," he mused. "You've got the biggest heart out of anyone I've ever known and at times it weighs you down."

He leaned back and held the boy's face in his hands, wiping at the tear tracks with his thumbs. "But that's when friends like me come in handy, even when you're at your lowest and feeling like the world's dragging you to the ground, you got us, okay?" He promised, placing a kiss on his friend's forehead. "You always got us."

Scott was quiet and his eyes had been directed downwards as Mitch was talking, but the older boy knew he had listened to every word he said.

It took a few more minutes and a few more gentle words before Scott had calmed down again, snuggled in closely to the teen's side, when the older officer poked his head around the door and Mitch motioned for them to come back in. They did and this time kept a respectful distance, the doctor hovering around them like a nervous mother hen, ready to chase them out again the moment he saw his patient getting upset.

The elder cop met Mitch's questioning gaze and gestured towards Scott, clearly asking the teen if he was prepared to ask the questions for them. Mitch nodded back, willing to give it a try, and turned back to the blond.

"I don't know how much sense this is going to make," he confessed, frowning as he wondered how he was supposed to approach a subject as sensitive as this one, not wanting a repeat of a few minutes ago. "All this is confusing for me so I can't imagine what it must be like for a nine year old boy, Scotty."

Usually, any mention of his age in relation to his understanding of the world would have rubbed the blond up completely the wrong way but this time the younger boy sniffled and nodded his head to Mitch. "Go ahead," he quietly allowed.

Mitch inhaled deeply and spoke only of what he was certain of. "Well you and I both know your mom loves you very much." That one was a given. "And that she would only disappear if it was her only option." He wasn't sure if disappeared was the correct term but Scott accepted it all the same.

He nodded in agreement. "She said she was in trouble."

Behind him, Mitch could sense one of the police officers begin to take notes, but stayed focused on keeping his friend calm as he fished for more detailed answers.

"When did she tell you that?" he asked, shifting his position slightly so he acted as a shield between Scott and the prying eyes.

"The night before the...them bad people came," the boy hushed out, eyes widening at the memory. Mitch was quiet, knowing if Scott had more to say he would let it out in his own time. It seemed like an age before he finally spoke up again, voice steadier than Mitch could ever have expected. "I ain't seen her in a few days but she'd told me she wanted to speak to me, and when I did she had this big bruise on her face which was really scary, I ain't never seen her look like that before. And I asked her what happened but all she said was that she was in trouble. Said she was try'na help people but the bad guys were on to her."

A big shudder took hold of the boy's frame and Mitch instinctively hugged him a little tighter, hoping he could pass on some much needed courage by sheer force of will. Scott was quiet until the shakes died down before mumbling: "Then she said it was best if we weren't seen together for a while and asked Shelby to look after me which I didn't want her to cos she's annoying," Scott continued. "I'd rather have had Rudy, he's really funny..." Dark shadows crossed his blue eyes. "Rudy didn't make it out," he blankly stated.

"What happened that night Scotty?" Mitch asked as softly as he possibly could, not allowing the dread he was feeling to creep into his tone.

Scott squeezed his eyes tight shut, continuing to speak into his own self-made darkness. "I was try'na get to sleep. It was annoying cos it was super late...or real early I guess; I know I'd been a pain and all the past few days and I thought maybe if I got to sleep good I'd be more gooder in the lessons."

The regret for his behaviour in the blond's voice was almost the push that sent Mitch over the edge but he managed to maintain his composure somehow, knowing it was key to helping Scott in that instant. "It's alright," he assured him.

Scott sniffed again, eyes still tight shut, speaking in a low, emotionless voice. "And then I heard people shouting outside and then the guys started...shooting the guns." Finally opening his eyes again, Mitch saw the reflection of pain and fright glistening on the blue orbs. "I heard a lot of gun shots in my life Mitchy but never was I scared before. I never realised how scary they were until they were aimed at you," he stuttered, pure horror slowly making itself heard in his speech.

"I tried to go and help but Rudy got me and told me to run." The shaking had started back up again but this time the boy didn't pause. "He took me to the back window by the emergency stair things and pushed me out. I tried to turn back and tell him to come too cos I was scared and I didn't wanna leave on my own but..." He stopped abruptly, mouth opening and closing as he struggled to finish. "B-but...someone had already sh-shot him from behind. In the head. Execution style y'know?" No, Mitch didn't know, and he wished to God that Scott didn't know either and that there was a medicine out there that could erase the image forever from his friend's mind.

"I've never seen someone die before...at least not right in front of me." The young boy was now sounding strangely reflective as he thought back to the murder, until his face fell again and he whimpered: "I don't ever wanna see that again."

Mitch kissed him on the forehead. _You're so brave. You're so fucking brave Scotty._  "And you never will, I promise," he said it with conviction, hesitating before bringing up the most dreaded topic of all. "I know you don't want to think about it, but you have to trust me when I say it's very, very important you tell me so we can help other people...did you see who...did you see who shot Rudy?"

Making a noise akin to a frightened animal, Scott slid down further under the bed sheets, as if hoping to hide himself from the world and making Mitch feel like he was the worst human being on the planet for asking the question. But this was Scott, and he was a little soldier like his dad if anything, making the conscious choice to be brave and take his mind back to the exact moment, not matter how desperately he must have wanted to run back to the safety of the present. He spoke slowly as he thought aloud. "This Latino guy...short...like maybe a little shorter than Avi...quite strong looking...wearing all black...and...and he had this weird tattoo on the side of his face...kinda like a dragon snake thingy." He shook his head, burying it completely under the covers. "That's all I remember," was the muffled sentence that signalled for the end of the interrogation.

The two cops nodded, appearing satisfied with what they'd heard and the elder one spoke kindly. "That was great Scott. Thank you very much for your help young sir."

"Welcome," the boy mumbled, still hidden.

Only once the door had shut and he and Mitch were alone did he poke his head back out, the haunted expression gone, only to be replaced with a slightly worried and tired one. That was better, Mitch could cope with worried and even though the issue had already been touched on, from what he had just heard and learnt about the horrendous night, the more Mitch desperately wanted to know why the boy hadn't just come running straight to him. "Why didn't you come to one of us Scott? You know we would've helped you."  _Am I not good enough?_

"Guess I was scared and I didn't know what I was doing. I was real hungry too," Scott explained "S'pose I just wasn't thinking right, half of me wanted to find you cos you always make things better but the other half only wanted my mom cos I knew she was in danger." He bit at his lip anxiously. "I dunno, I just wanted to find her Mitchy. She said as long as we're together we'd be alright...but then she left and people got killed. Rudy, Shelby's boyfriend too I think, and Vasily...he was only a bit older than me..." He flipped over so he was on his side facing the older boy and asked very seriously: "What if she got hurt by the bad guys too?"

"No," Mitch answered, perhaps too quickly but he was desperate not to allow Scott to give up hope. "The cops are gonna find her Scott. I feel it in here," he assured, placing a hand over his heart, any thoughts of him not being good enough for Scott to run to extinguished by the painful realization that of course the boy would have wanted to find his mom if he suspected she might be hurt, and that being as sick and scared as he was, he would have been in no right state of mind to realise finding her on his own was not a task for him.

Scott's mouth tightened. "Don't just say that," he instructed.

"I'm not," Mitch insisted, grabbing his hand. "You know I would never lie to you."

The youngster stared at him for a second, eye flickering across his face for any trace of doubt. Finding none, he gifted the teen with a tiny smile. "At least I didn't steal nothing Mitchy, like you said. Even without my hat...I lost it," he admitted sorrowfully.

"Yeah, you're an angel." Mitch gave him another kiss on the top of his head and this time the boy giggled an squirmed away.  _Back to normal_ , Mitch smiled. "And I'll buy you a new one, any one you want," he promised.

Relaxing more into the mattress, Scott looked about ready to fall asleep properly this time, perhaps knowing the stress of the questioning was over allowed him to feel slightly more at ease. "Where am I going after?" he asked.

Mitch settled down too, pulling the sheet up around the boy's neck and lowering the bed. He didn't need to ask to know what Scott meant by "after". "Try not to worry about that now. I know it's hard not to, but try and get some rest."

"Are you gonna go?" Scott asked, trying to make it seem casual but unable to hide the blatant worry.

"Nope. I'm staying right here. They could threaten me with having to wear Avi's clothes for a year and I still wouldn't leave."

Chuckling softly, the young boy eventually rested his eyes again. "Thank you for not leaving me Mitchy...and for finding me," he said softly, already beginning to drift off into dreamland.

Moving slightly to his left to give the boy more space, the metal bar of the bed pressing up uncomfortably against his back, he reached out with an index finger to lightly brush the hair just above Scott's ear. "I'll always find you," he whispered back. "Whenever you need help I'll always be here. Don't you worry about that."

Scott was asleep within seconds. No pretence this time. The slightly longer and louder breaths coupled with the tiny sounds only sleep brought on, proof that he was out of it.

Mitch stayed, not breaking his promise even though it wasn't the most comfortable position and he could probably have easily snuck out. He stayed exactly where he was, and at some point in the next five to ten minutes, sleep found him too, slumber coming easy now he knew his best friend was right beside him, where he belonged.


	49. The Darkness Within

_You need to spend time crawling alone through shadows to truly appreciate what it is to stand in the sun. - Shaun Hick_

**Saturday 9th May**

Kirstie was back at the hospital bright and early the very next day, having spent a restless night in her apartment, thinking over what she could and should have done differently to protect Scott better, and of how her family were the worst people in the world, sending dangerous men out to hurt little kids. To kill them.

It was the final nail in the coffin. She needed to end it. She needed to get the fuck out but first she had to try and stop the madness that was brewing. She couldn't allow any more innocent children like Scott to end up traumatised by a war they had no part in.

Bouncing one of the small balls she had saved from their rest stop on the way to the campsite, taking pleasure every time it thudded against the wall and returned obediently to her open hand, she attempted to conjure up some magical plan that could solve all her problems. It had not been very fruitful so far.

There were soft footsteps to her right and then a deep voice spoke up. "Howdy."

Turning at the sound of the low bass, her gaze set upon Avi and immediately she was jolted back into current time, partly due to surprise at what he was carrying.

"Hey," she smiled in greeting, raising her eyebrows at what he was holding out to her. "What are these for?" she asked, taking them in her hands.

The boy shrugged, a wry grin on his face as he rubbed at the back of his neck in slight bashfulness. "I just thought your day could do with brightening," he commented while Kirstie admired the bouquet of flowers in her arms. The bouquet was all of her favourites, mini-sunflowers, white daisies and purple asters. She vaguely remembered mentioning them to Avi once, many moons ago now, and yet he'd apparently had no trouble recalling.

She couldn't help her smile growing wider at the gesture and in turn her delight encouraged Avi even further. "Maybe you could get Kevin to put some in your hair again," he teased her with a gentle nudge as he sat down beside her in the small waiting area.

"It's sweet of you," she said, leaning into his side, allowing the scent of the flowers to settle her mind somewhat. "But aren't you meant to bring flowers to the person in hospital?"

She felt rather than heard the rumble of the chuckle. "I think decorating his room in flowers would only make him want to escape more." True, Scott had yet to reach the age where he appreciated that flowers weren't just for girls and would usually be happier swiping at the petals with a stick. "He's a bit happier now at least," Avi added. "Now they've taken the feeding tube out."

"I'll bet," she smirked, snuggling her head into the crook of his neck, pleasured from the warmth he emitted. "I asked if I could see him when I got here but they were busy with him. Mitch is in there though."

The teen was bound to be exhausted too, having two people extremely important to him to worry over was not healthy. All Kirstie had ever wanted to do was help them, but she'd just fucked everything up. One second passed. Two seconds passed. Three seconds passed. Guilt was eating and pestering at her. A fire burned in her mind and throat. Remorse hitting her like a sledgehammer.

Avi shifted underneath her, and Kirstie felt his breath tickle her forehead as he leant his head down next to hers. "Kirst?" He sounded concerned.  _Just stop fucking worrying about me. I don't deserve it._

"Fuck our lives," she blurted out, voice quivering. "Just...fuck everything."

"He's gonna be okay Kirstie," Avi hushed, taking her face in his warm hands. "He's safe now," he tried to comfort her, green eyes wide with sympathy.

He didn't get it. Sure, she was worried about Scott and how he was going to be even after he got out of hospital but what she was perhaps even more concerned about was that she still had no idea what she was supposed to do. What good could a sixteen year old girl do against an army of thugs who only cared about money and power?

The "what if's" and "what might's" were overrunning her brain, and she wasn't able to cope with all the dark thoughts swirling about in her subconscious.

"What if we hadn't found him?" she whimpered, meeting his gaze with tear filled eyes. "Jeez, it was only by pure luck that we did."

The boy pursed his lips, as if he were struggling to stop himself from bursting into tears, and pulled her into a tight hug instead, running a hand through her hair. "And with a little bit of detective work from you and Kevin," he reminded her. "It's not your fault," he whispered.

Avi let her go but continued to wrap an arm around her shoulders and pulled her in close, gently rubbing her arm. Despite the heaviness in her stomach, it fluttered at the feeling of her body pressed against his. She sunk once again into the warmth of his side, appreciative of the simple gesture. His gentle touch made the room warmer somehow, her future seeming a little less bleak at mere body contact.

She moved the flowers, who had become partially squashed in the midst of the hug, to a free seat next to her; sniffing quietly, blinking away the dampness, determined to stay strong. "I wonder if any of his family been contacted," she commented, as a way to alter the conversation slightly.

Avi frowned. "Well I was on the phone to Mr L earlier, and his oldest sister's been found, in New York of all places," he informed her.

She sat up straight at that piece of news. "He's not going there is he?" she asked immediately, agitated their little family would be split up.

"No," Avi assured her instantly. "No, she didn't want anything to do with him anyway and by the sounds of it, it seems she's gonna have her own little one to take care of soon, and she's only sixteen herself," he told her, fiddling with the hem of her jacket. "Besides, I don't think they were too keen on moving him to Hell's Kitchen," he mentioned. "Seems he'll be sticking with er, oh what's her name again? That Irish lady for some time. She seemed nice."

She had. Whatever her name was had turned up along with two social workers late yesterday to meet Scott. The youngster probably hadn't made the best first impression by cussing a blue streak at them to leave him alone and had to be sweet-talked by Mitch into not covering his ears with his hands every time they tried to speak to them.

After an hour or so though, he had calmed down considerably and even had a small smile on his face as the three adults made a fuss over him, enjoying the attention despite the constant fearful look he still seemed to carry.

Kirstie sighed, shaking her head. "But it's not right. He should be with his mom..." she insisted, before her face crumpled at the thought of what her family could have done to the woman, all her dark thoughts erupting in an uncontrollable explosion. "It's all my fault Avi! It's my fault that Scotty was living on the streets! God Avi, he's only nine years old, what if –"

"Hey," he cut her off with a light finger against her lips, glancing around to check she hadn't caused too much of a scene, and then smiling at her kindly. "My midget man's a tough little guy. He'll bounce back, just you see, in a few weeks he'll be making you wanna tear your hair out again." Kirstie laughed despite herself, cheeks reddened from the unexpected velocity of her sudden outburst. 

Avi's smile widened at her own again, as he added: "Correct that, Uncle Scotty." He sent her a cheeky wink. "I think I'm gonna insist everyone call him that from now on."

His little jest was the best medicine she could have received for her dark thoughts; the way he was still managing to sit with a smile on his face and words of comfort was like an anchor to her.

In the background loud childish laughter could be heard echoing down the hallways and Kirstie hoped it was Scott's. It was hard to tell though and she doubted that the boy was feeling much like laughing in such a carefree manner at the moment.

Avi heard it too and pulled a funny expression at the mystery sound, causing her to laugh again. After a moment, she turned to him. "How do you always know what to say?" she queried softly.

He gave a short laugh, biting at his lip in uncertainty. "That's a bit ironic, isn't it?" he joked. It was obvious to what he was referring to.

Rolling her eyes, she bumped her shoulder against his. "No, I mean it. You always have the best answers."

A pause, and then Avi was staring at her seriously, eyebrows tilted down at the corners in earnestness. "For you I'll always do my best," he said compassionately. "And you must listen to me when I say what happened was not your fault," he told her once more, taking hold of her hand and rubbing his thumb across the smooth skin. "I don't care how many times I have to tell you, your family doesn't make up who  _you are_."

She glanced down at their hands, intertwined on his leg, and then back up at the sincerity in his expression, almost begging her to trust in what he was saying. He wanted nothing more than for her to just feel like she was not as bad a person as she always thought she would be.  _He's too good for me_ , she noted.  _I don't deserve his affections_. She smiled all the same, perhaps to placate him more than anything. "You tell me that a few more times I might start believing you."

Avi didn't buy it, at least not completely, but he allowed her words to remain the truth for now. "I'll tell you as long as I need to," he murmured, still not breaking her gaze.

"How's your exam prep going?" Kirstie asked, changing the topic dramatically into something that didn't involve her talking about her hidden feelings.

The boy shrugged nonchalantly. "Alright, me and Kevin are going to be helping each other out. Or rather he's helping me out," he added ruefully. "We're going to work through some at recess during the week. Actually I tell a lie, I'm definitely going to be helping him out. You should see the revision they get these kids to do, he sent me some example questions last night. Makes finals seem like a leisurely stroll in the park."

What he was referring to was the little piece of news Kevin had announced to them all last night, just before he'd left with Mr L. He'd actually been storing the news for a few days, but with everything going on he'd never found the right opportunity. With Scott out of harm's way and all of them relatively calm though, he had revealed with great excitement that he'd found a medical summer school in their state, one of only three in the whole country that took on kids as young as he was, that he was going to try and get into.

It was a vigorous selection process, complete with an exam and then an interview, to select only the finest and most enthusiastic kids between the ages of eleven and sixteen. Kevin certainly had both of those in abundance but was still adamant that he was going to spend practically every waking hour revising until the day of the exam.

Avi had been only too happy to agree to be a study buddy and Kirstie knew he was just as good as Mr L when it came to explaining things, but still, the fact that he could do that while also brushing off his own finals so easily was a little annoying.

"For you maybe," she told him. It was a joke around the school that the run up to finals week was the only time students stopped buying weed and used their money to purchase Adderall instead but Avi had found the first semester a breeze and would likely do just as well for the second, which was coming up in mid June. And then he'd be done. Now that was a scary thought. "So you'll be leaving me all on my own this week?" she said with faked disappointment.

He smirked, tapping his foot impatiently on the floor, obviously wondering how much longer it would be until they could see their younger friend. "You'll be welcome to join us but Mr L also said Scotty should be back at school by Tuesday," he let her know. "You and Mitch will probably have your hands full."

_Wouldn't have it any other way._

Her face lit up at the idea. "So soon?"

Avi nodded, laughing: "He's recovering remarkably quickly according to the doctors. I think he just wants to get out of this place and start wrestling with Kevo again."

"Can't wait," Kirstie declared, meaning it. "I can't believe Mitchy spent all night with him," she mentioned, before shaking her head slightly as she properly thought about it. "Then again I totally can."

"Yeah..." Avi paused, his brain ticking over something Kirstie didn't know of. "Yeah Mitch is a good kid," he finally said solemnly. "Got a good set of principles in him."

"You sound like you're his dad."

"Hmph yeah, not as lucky as me, is he?" Avi said quietly. "Hasn't got a proper father figure around."

Kirstie didn't know if he meant that to be a joke but if he did it certainly wasn't funny. His body had tensed, she noticed; his eyes were all of a sudden darker, a distant glaze covering them, like he wasn't completely there with her.

It made her uncomfortable. He wasn't often like this but when he was, it was almost like he was a different boy, someone she didn't really know at all. It reminded her of how he'd been in the cab ride to the hospital and other small moments in the past when he acted completely out of character, or the character that she knew anyway.

"You're still on talking terms with Mr L then," she commented, having noticed the undeniable tension that was still present between the two not just since Avi had snapped in the car, but the whole week leading up to it.

Avi's mouth tightened and his eyes narrowed. "Only when it's necessary," he replied tersely, retreating even further into his toughened shell.

"Was what you said about him wanting to leave really true?" Kirstie hesitantly asked.

"It's what he told me," he answered with a huff, but the reply sounded almost forced, like he was trying to force himself to believe it as truth.

"Yeah at the start of the year, when we acted like brats towards him and each other," she pointed out. "Well not you but you didn't exactly show him love either did you?"

He just shook his head stubbornly. "People don't change so easily," he said in defiance.

"You did," she shot back. "Mr Silence."

"That's different."

"Yeah, yours is the more unbelievable change." She didn't understand why he was acting like this. Avi was more often than not the level head, the one who could be relied upon to remain calm whatever the situation. "Mr L is cool with me," she said, just as defiantly as he had.

"I guess we'll just have to agree to disagree on that one then."

That had to be first time he had deliberately done something that wasn't to please her.  _What's gotten into you recently?_  Or rather, she realized,  _what_  had happened?

"Where?" she demanded to know, catching him off guard so that his moody exterior fell for a second, replaced with a look of confusion.

"What?" he replied.

"Where Avi?" she repeated, pulling on his arm. "What did he do this time?"

Understanding dawning on him, the boy relaxed somewhat, shrugging her hand off. "A few bruised ribs maybe," he replied causally with a lopsided smile. "It's all good."

She stared at him in shock, not able to believe what she was hearing. "How can you say that?" It horrified her just how calmly and matter of factly he had admitted to his most recent abuse.

Avi sneered, at no one in particular, scuffing his feet against the floor. "Look, I'm just riding the wave like I told you, just gotta bide my time until the net closes in around him." He laughed then, a scary glint appearing in his normally mellow eyes. "Not long now," he muttered to himself quietly. "I know it's not long now."

"I thought you weren't going to let him hurt you anymore?" she cried out, plain angry that he seemed so relaxed about the whole situation.  _How bad has it been at home? How much has he been hiding while we've all been worried about Scott?_  "I thought that was part of our deal, that we weren't going to let ourselves be pushed around."

"Yeah," he said simply. Emotionless.

"Yeah what?" Kirstie asked, frustration laced in her voice.

The feelings she had for Avi, were like none she'd ever felt before. Yet at times it was as if she hardly knew him, there was still so much pain that he kept hidden, so much hidden rage. How could they ever really be what Avi desired when he wasn't willing to be his true self around her.

"Listen," he said, in a forced monotone. "Your version of standing up is different to mine. My version is...my version is showing him I'm not afraid, even when he's hurting me," his voice lowered as he stared off into nothingness. "I always looked so scared before," he practically whispered. "But now I leave with a smile on my face...maybe that was going a bit far, it almost earned me a repeat treatment right off the bat."

He was smiling now as well. Unnerving and eerily put on, like he was preparing for the role of the Joker. It didn't suit him at all, so far from the warm, beaming smile he usually gifted everyone with.

Kirstie shivered, the comfort the boy had earlier provided suddenly gone, a chill in the air replacing it. "You're crazy," she whispered, because she didn't know what else to say.

Avi gave her a side glance, contemplating her opinion on the matter. "Crazy breeds crazy," he said after a moment, a slightly more natural smirk on his face, although those words had done nothing to calm her concerns any further. "Judging from your tone, I take it you've already started on your crusade."

He was changing the conversation topic, just like she had done earlier.  _Maybe we're just as bad as each other_ , she thought, too damaged to fully open up to one another, no matter how much they felt a connection. A shame really.

She had been starting on her "crusade" though, as Avi had called it, distancing herself further and further from the family business, defiantly saying no for the first time in her life when she was asked to put herself in risky situations for people she didn't give a shit about. She'd also given up smoking, but that was more because Mitch had been bugging her for months ever since he'd quit, claiming he felt a million times healthier. She only wished she found it as easy as he seemingly had.

It was while she was telling Avi of this, that the other teen appeared, strolling down the hallway, empty water bottle in hand, heading for the fountain but making a beeline for the older two when he spotted them. 

Avi gave him a nod in greeting. "Mitchy," he said simply, before doing a double take when he actually got a proper look at the boy.

Kirstie too pulled a puzzled expression as Mitch stood in front of them, clothes soaked and hair dripping in certain places.

"Hey guys," the younger teen smiled tiredly at them. Noticing their looks of confusion he glanced down at his wet clothes and let out a laugh. "Oh, um Scott just had a shower and he decided he'd rather dry his hair by shaking like a dog rather than use a hairdryer. Me and a nurse got caught in the firing line." For the first time in a while Kirstie saw the teen's dimples as his broke into his widest of grins.

 _Maybe it was Scott's laughter we heard earlier_ , she thought happily. "He looks like a different kid," he told them ecstatically, "even the cut on his hand doesn't look too bad when it's clean and healing...can still count every rib though..." he trailed off but managed to not linger too long on such dark thoughts, sending Avi a grateful glance. "By the way thank you Avi, for the clothes. He says they're way more "awesomer" than the ones the hospital gave him."

The older boy brushed it off; the new clothes that he had dashed out and bought the previous evening. "It was nothing," he insisted.

"We good to come and see him?" Kirstie asked. She could really do with just forgetting about her own and Avi's issues for a while and spend time with the little rat.

"Yeah, he's playing with some of the racing cars, probably wants to show off some tricks with them." The boy laughed again in fondness before his face turned serious and he looked towards the eldest. "Before we go though...Avi...can I have a word with you?"

A moment's hesitation, perhaps a glint of uncertainty in his green eyes, but then Avi was smiling as normal. "Sure Mitch."

Kirstie shifted forward on her seat, getting ready to leave, but Mitch caught her with a hand on her shoulder as he sat down next to her, moving the flowers out of the way with a small knowing smirk.

"It's alright, you can stay," he said. Kirstie read between the lines and figured the teen would rather she stayed, for reasons she wasn't quite sure of. "This has been on my mind for a while," Mitch began, clenching and unclenching his fists on his knees, "ever since you invited us to your house actually."

 _It's not a good time, it's not a good time,_  Kirstie started thinking. Now was not a good time to be talking to Avi about anything to do with his home life. She hoped Mitch would notice the tension in the other boys muscles, or that Avi would ask for them to speak at another time. But unfortunately neither occurred.

"Oh?" Avi asked casually, with a slight raise of his eyebrows.

"On your little tour, well, you see I couldn't help noticing those framed photos of your dad along that one hallway, you know what I mean?"

"Oh yeah, I know exactly where your talking about." Avi huffed out a laugh. "What a douchebag. Am I right?"

Mitch snorted. "You said it not me."

"So...was that it? You just wanted to point out that my father's ego is bigger than the solar system?"

"No, it wasn't just that, it was...there was a particular photo I was on about. One with a huge check to do with something called the Emerson deal. I'm speculating he's the main guy in it all– "

He got no further as he was suddenly cut off with Avi standing up and towering above him, rage in his eyes. "Who told you?" he demanded to know, body quivering with pent up anger.

"I uh...wha–" Mitch was caught completely off guard, his face one of absolute astonishment at the switch in Avi's personality. 

"Who the fuck told you about that?" Avi hissed, grabbing hold of the smaller boy's shoulders. "Spit it out!"

Mitch returned his glare with an equally steely one of his own. "My dad," he said, voice tight.

Avi pushed him back so he bumped the back of the seat. "Who the fuck is your dad?" he yelled.

"You know who he is! He was...is a lawyer." Mitch was clearly confused more than anything right now, although Kirstie could detect a hint of fright underneath it all.

"Yeah. Fucking working for him is he?"

Mitch shook his head, pulling a disdained face. "Hold the fuck up–"

"I knew he'd be wriggling his way out of it somehow!" Avi continued to ramble, pacing a short distance up and down the hallway. "I knew–"

"Avi!" Kirstie hissed. "People are staring." She was scared. This was completely different. This wasn't her Avi; the boy who was always so sweet and kind and patient.

Mitch was on his feet now, ignoring the height difference between himself and Avi and grabbing hold of the boys arm, getting right in his face. "Before you say another word, hear what I have to say," he declared, not letting go when the older boy tried to pull away. "My dad went to fucking jail for this deal, not for being a part of it or whatever fucked up bullshit you just invented in your messed up mind, but for trying to stop it from happening in the first place," Mitch furiously informed him of his own father's innocence. "When I visited him he told me all about how hundreds of innocent, hard working people were fucked over by this deal of your fathers; actually I didn't even know it was your dad until I saw the photo and connected all the dots together."

And with that said and done Mitch finished with a firm shove of his own, pushing the older boy away from him. Avi's head was now lowered, his whole body quaking. "I never wanted it to happen," he shakily whispered. "I– I would rather have gone to prison myself than let everyone get hurt."

At his retreat into self-hatred, Mitch was suddenly a lot more sympathetic. "Woah, don't get carried away there," he said softly. "Believe me I know we're hardly the decision makers when it comes to the actions of our parents." He took a step forward and placed a hand on the older boy's shoulder, a lot gentler this time. "I just thought you should know Avi; my dad and his buddies...they're fighting back, building up a case, got a lot of evidence if my dad's excitement was anything to go by." He sighed as the other teen still refused to meet his gaze, his own hand shaking due to Avi's. "I just didn't want you to be the last to find out, like I was the first time around," he concluded.

A few deep breaths in and out, in and out. A few moments of silence that allowed Avi to relax and calm himself enough to meet Mitch in the eyes, own orbs filled with apology. "I already knew, have done for some months," he admitted softly. "But thank you Mitch. Thank you for being honest with me." He laughed quietly to himself, shaking his head in disbelief. "All this time, it's been a friend's dad of mine who's been making him lose it."

And then they were both quiet, both steadily watching the other to see who would make the next move.  _It's starting to make sense._  She didn't know whether Mitch had preferred Kirstie to stay because he could sense that she and Avi were having secrecy issues with one another or if he simply had been too nervous to confront the boy on his own, but she was glad she had, glad she finally had a greater insight into what was causing Mr Kaplan so much stress that in turn was hurting his son.

The period of silence was ended when Mitch's shoulders slumped and he gave a lazy shrug, rubbing at his eyes. "Hey, if we're not honest with each other we ain't really got a whole lot of people to trust," he said.

"I'm sorry," Avi replied sincerely. "For shouting."

"It's alright, we all lose our cool now and then," the boy assured him, heading over to the water fountain to get what he came for, and then turning back to the two. "I'm gonna head back to Scotty, I don't like leaving him for too long. You guys can join us whenever."

Watching until the younger boy had disappeared, Kirstie sent Avi a questioning gaze, one eyebrow raised in scrutiny. "It's all good huh?" she queried in a dull tone.

"Is a man not allowed to shout sometimes?" the boy shot back, only half jokingly. He had yet to sit back down again, instead choosing to lean against the opposite wall, arms crossed against his chest.

"Shouting is okay, it can help in certain situations. But for a guy who rarely shouts you've certainly done your fair share in the last two days." Kirstie looked at him in sadness. "But like you said, it's all good," she mimicked, voice raising. "Black eyes and dislocated fingers and bruised ribs are all good!"

He stared at her blankly, before saying: "Now look who's shouting."

 _I could seriously punch you in the face right now._  Didn't he get that she was worried about him? Why did he find it so hard to talk to her when it really mattered?

She stood up, stony faced, grabbing the flowers roughly by the stems. "You should go get Mitch some coffee," she mentioned calmly, calling on her best action skills. "He deserves it."

Avi shrugged and nodded in agreement, pushing himself off the wall and started in the direction of the hospital cafe, pausing when Kirstie made no move to follow. "Aren't you coming?" he asked with a frown.

The girl sighed loudly, deliberately. "Didn't you realise by my choice of words that I was implying you go and get it," she announced authoritatively. "I'm not having you see Scotty until you've calmed down. Completely calmed down Avi," she added firmly, sending him a glare that meant she wanted no more say on the matter.

For a moment it looked as if he was going to argue, but then his head dropped in defeat, hair flopping in front of his eyes. "No...I uh...I hadn't realised that's what you meant," he said awkwardly, spinning around on the spot so she just saw his back. "Still learning about this whole social interaction thing I guess," he continued, taking a couple of steps. "But you know what I have realized?" he said, turning his head back around.

Kirstie gave no reply but he wasn't waiting for one. With a smile, a small one at that but one she recognized as his at least, he spoke softly with determination. "Maybe fighting back is the way to get what you want."

And then he was off, doing as she had requested. Kirstie turned too, heading towards Scott's room, a few petals falling to the floor as she walked.


	50. Growing Pains

_"Life is too short to waste your time on people who don't respect, appreciate, and value you." - Roy T. Bennett, The Light in the Heart_

**Tuesday 12th May**

Jeremy had found that recently he was finding it a lot more of a stressful experience to use any forms of social media. He wasn't a jealous character by default but going onto FaceBook or Twitter and seeing his old school and college buddies travelling the world or getting married or having kids - one was even working for NASA - and here he was, struggling to pay the bills. He could have asked his mom for help, she wouldn't have paused to offer it if she knew how things were piling up for him, but he'd sworn to himself that he was going to be an independent adult after college and do it all himself.

He genuinely did love his job and he liked to think that he was half decent at teaching by now, at least with his particular set of kids. It just came naturally to him, like how being sassy came naturally to Mitch. For example, getting three teenagers and one pre-teen to try and focus on schoolwork after everything that had been going on was no mean feat, but by eleven o'clock on Tuesday morning, Jeremy Lewis appeared to have accomplished the impossible.

The loudest noise in the small class were the scratchings of pens against paper and the rhythmic ticking of the wall clock. Heads were bowed down low in concentration and for the first time in a while, Jeremy felt that he didn't have to keep one eye on them at all times, allowing him time to sort out his own work; or rather searching on the internet for a new car.

He would never admit that Mitch's constant eye rolling at the vehicle was the main reason for him wanting a new one, but he couldn't say it didn't have absolutely nothing to do with it.

It was the most relaxed they had all been in a while. Scott had been discharged that very morning, and Jeremy had been assured by his foster carer that she would give him a call later that evening to let him know if the boy had settled in alright. He had seemed alright the night before, although he was more engrossed in playing Smash Brothers with another child on his ward than paying attention to any of the adults. At the moment Mitch was the only one who he made an effort to actively engage with

He'd had one meeting with the child phycologist, with less than fruitful results. The boy had apparently been silent throughout the meeting, refusing to even meet the doctor's eyes. Jeremy had been allowed to hear a clip of the interview and the most noise the child had made was when the doctor had asked him a variation of how he was feeling for the fifth time and the sound of a plastic toy being angrily thrown to the floor echoed out of the speaker.

Despite shutting himself out, which Jeremy was assured was to be expected, especially to someone he didn't know, Scott was doing surprisingly well. Even after a few days in the hospital the boy appeared remarkably better on the outside, he was stocked up on meds for his bronchitis and had put on enough weight for the doctors to be happy for him to leave, and leaving the hospital certainly made the nine year old happier.

Mitch had come in that morning looking like he hadn't slept for three days straight, which wasn't too far from the truth. The young teen had been a constant presence of comfort and reassurance for his friend, spending almost all his free time with Scott, in his moments of wake and sleep. Jeremy had to remind Mitch a few times to make sure he was taking care of himself too.

To tell the truth he had felt a bit hypocritical when telling the fourteen year old to take care and not forget about his own health, when he himself had probably been disregarding his own wellbeing recently.

But that different. Sometimes life was tough and you just had to pull through. Also he was an adult; not a fourteen year old kid with a part time job, sick mother and incarcerated father. He could handle himself. He hoped Mitch was doing okay. The boy trusted him now but that didn't mean it wasn't still hard to get information out of him. The few times Jeremy had inquired after his mom, the teen had quickly changed the topic of conversation or simply replied: "Alright." Not very insightful stuff.

A knock at the door; brief, sharp taps, and then a head poked it's way around before Jeremy had even spoken up. "Mr Lewis." The head of one of his and the class's most despised teacher's appeared and was therefore met with five pairs of equally cold glares.

Jeremy could see out of the corner of his eye as Avi bristled in his seat and hoped that the other teacher was not here to cause trouble. Avi's mood recently had been predictable to say the least and having a man like that aggravating him was sure to not help matters.

Thankfully the older man merely beckoned hesitantly to him. "A quiet word if you please," he requested, hold the door open wider for Jeremy to follow through.

 _Seems like I don't have a choice in this_ , Jeremy thought. He hadn't really been wanting to waste his time with the likes of the geography teacher when he could be using it for his own benefit. However he sensed something different about the other teacher today. Gone was the typical sneering, arrogant attitude; replacing it was a nervous glint in his eyes, which twitched uneasily between Jeremy and his students.

"To what do I owe the pleasure Mr Jacobson," he put on his most practiced courteous voice and gave the man a thin smile, one which barely altered his face shape.

Jacobson raised a hand to his thinning hairline, massaging at his temple like he had a headache. "You've probably realised, that the school has been under a growing amount of pressure," the man began, rubbing his sweaty palms together as he spoke in a nervous manner. He paused then, and looked to Jeremy expectantly, as if he assumed the younger man was going to read his mind to know what he wanted.

Jeremy simply raised one eyebrow at him.  _What the fuck are you on about?_  In return, Jacobson let out a loud huff, glancing shiftily left and right before loudly whispering. "Drugs Mr Lewis. This school is as much a drug front as it is a learning center, and lately the former has been taking over."

Slightly more clear on the topic of conversation but still vastly out of the loop, Jeremy checked to make sure his door was firmly shut and then took the other teacher by the elbow, moving them both further along the hallway. "As much as that saddens me," he said, "what's it got to do with me?"

"Not you," the man shook his head, "your students. Or one in particular."

_Fuck's sake, not this again._

Narrowing his eyes, Jeremy made it obvious where he stood. "I thought I made it clear last time, you point one accusing finger at Kirstie and I'll make life very difficult for you," he threatened.

The other man seemed unaffected by his show of bravado, shaking his head rapidly once more, his eyes widening. "You don't understand," he insisted, "we need to show the board that we are making improvements." The obvious desperation in his tone had Jeremy faltering for a second.

He sighed. Despite his hundreds of faults there was a glimmer of sympathy he felt for the man. He clearly took his job seriously and Jeremy knew he had worked at the school for a long time. In his opinion however, he just wasn't the type of guy who should be teaching kids. Maybe two hundred years ago, but not in modern day society.

"Not very easy when there's no money," Jeremy pointed out. It was like a vicious circle. There was no money for improvements in the school, so the overall standards slipped, therefore the kids either graduated with below average results or were dropped or kicked out before they could finish. The people who decided how much money the school should be allowed saw that the students performed poorly and decided they weren't worth their resources and so the school only further declined.

It was dumb, it was stupid, but it was just how it was. That's what these kids got for being born on the wrong side of the tracks.

Jacobson apparently had an idea of what they should be doing. "An act that shows the school will not tolerate such behaviour. Think about it, if we hand over a kid like that she's bound to know stuff that would keep the cops off our back."

Jeremy shook his head in defiance. "She's just a kid." And she wasn't anything like her family. She was sweet and kind and smart enough to know she was capable of so much more than what had been laid out for her.

The other man frowned, upset that Jeremy wasn't sharing his same views. "Do you not see the wider picture? Not everything revolves around your precious little class of little projects." Okay, that was enough. He'd been willing to tolerate listing to the man's rants for a few minutes but suggesting that not giving Kirstie over was somehow a selfish act on his part? That was pure bullshit.

Stepping forward and using his height to his full advantage, he towered over the older man. "In case you hadn't noticed, we're a little bit isolated up here, and I'm never made to feel very welcome by other teachers in the staff room." He swallowed, trying hard to keep the jealousy out of his. "And frankly I don't give a damn about anything that happens to this school as long as I know my kids are safe and getting a good education," he continued, glaring at Jacobson when it looked like he might interrupt him. "I'm telling you this for certain right now - you  _can_  not and  _will_  not use those kids as scapegoats."

Still not ready to back down, the older man began a new tactic. "The principal would see it as an act from a fine young man with a great future ahead of him," he persuaded, in a voice so fake it made Jeremy cringe inwardly. "I know there's a head of department job opening up, usually reserved for people who are already actual teachers, but..." The man gave him a suggestive smile, raising his eyebrows. "Listen, this could be a massive step in your career–"

"It's not about advancing our careers," he shot back. "It's about finding one for  _them_."

 _I know I used to think otherwise too but that's all changed._ He'd realised by now that wasn't what it should be about.

Having failed with his charm Jacobson switched back to his default sneering attitude. "You know most would be grateful, but then again I suppose a spoilt little mommy's boy doesn't have much to worry about," he spat out, cheeks reddening. "You just leech off her? Bet you're still living at home, in some fancy house while the rest of us hardworking citizens are just trying their best to get by."

"No, actually I'm not..." Jeremy barked out a fake laugh. "And it's not much bigger than this room, my internet is crap and there's an army of ants who break into my kitchen at least once a month and I would really really love a new car." It was his turn to rant now and Jacobson was taken aback by the clear frustration in the younger man's voice. "I s'pose I could take your offer and get round to sorting out my financial problems but that shouldn't be what our job is about. You don't come into this career if you care about money," he said. "There's a huge difference between what we work for and what we live for."

The moment of uncertainty he spotted in the other man's eye was all Jeremy needed to further reinforce his point. "They're not just what you would call 'little projects', they're living, breathing people who deserve the same chances as every other kid in this school."

"But the reputation–"

"Oh would you fuck off with your reputation," Jeremy groaned. "I don't care if it puts thousands of kids out of school. Either they get the same treatment as everyone else or," he took a deep breath in, one corner of his lip quirking up into a wry smirk. "Or I will be a little brat and write my mommy a very angry letter expressing my concern of your own teaching standards." The look of absolute astonishment on Jacobson's face was worth his little temper tantrum. "Do I make myself clear?" he asked with a glare.

He watched as the Adam's apple bobbed up and down in the other teacher's throat, before the man himself croaked out: "Crystal."

Jeremy didn't bother writing around for any more conversation that could waste his time, instead marching straight back to his door, pushing his way back in through the ajar door.

_Didn't I shut this?_

Opening his door, it took Jeremy a while before he realised there was something not quite right with his classroom; that it wasn't the same as how he'd left it.

"Mr L?"

"Jeez!" He leapt a foot in the air as Mitch's voice piped up right next to him, soft as it was he hadn't expected to be in that particular location. Turning wide eyed he found that his four students happened to have relocated themselves to the wall next to the door, giving them an ideal spot to listen in on the conversation.

_And that explains the door._

"How long have you lot been standing there?" Jeremy breathily asked.

"Long enough," Avi replied, his gaze unwavering as he studied his teacher's slightly shaken form.

Kevin stared up at him in awe. "You think we're worth enough to risk having the school shut down?"

Jeremy chuckled lightly, walking past them back to his chair, sitting down and kicking his feet up onto the desk in the perfect pose for his victory over his superior. It didn't last long as doubts began creeping in.  _Shit, what if Jacobson makes up some shit to get me fired?_

But a glance to the four young faces was all the confirmation he needed to assure that whatever happened, he knew he'd done the right thing. "Yeah, y'know, worse comes to worse I'll set up my own private school just for you five. Admission fees are to be paid in Skittles," he told them with a cheeky grin, pausing as he properly thought about it. "That's not a bad idea actually."

Kevin and Mitch laughed, the latter rolling his eyes, and returned to their seats. The older two however, remained behind. Kirstie stepped towards him, eyes staring up, a mixture of emotions swirling through those orbs.

"Thank you," she whispered, closing the gap and wrapping her dainty arms around his neck. Jeremy smiled softly and placed a hand on the back of her head, giving her a wink when she stepped back. It was then Avi's turn to say his peace.

At first the boy struggled with his words but then, after steeling himself, he said firmly: "I need to apologise."

Jeremy smiled. "No need Avi."

"But I–"

"Were just going off what you've learnt previously about teachers," Jeremy commented, taking note of the slight flinch from the teen. He sighed and dropped his feet from the desk. "I'm not a perfect teacher, I know I've made my mistakes this year," he admitted, addressing all the students. "But one thing you can always be certain of, is that I will always have your backs," he let them know, before chuckling lightly. "No matter how many years I feel I've aged in the process."

It was true, Jeremy felt as if he had been training for some great sporting event, like a marathon, after less than a year of teaching. The amount of exhaustion he felt at the end of the day often made him question his career choices, made him wonder if he truly was the right teacher for these kids. But then he would remind himself: at the start of the year these kids were seen as stupid or incontrollable or dangerous, that was why they'd chucked them to him. And at times perhaps they had all teetered on the edge of those characteristics; but with Jeremy they'd thrived, there attendance record was excellent and they'd done amazing in their exams and they were honestly some of the most incredible young people Jeremy had ever met. His college and school buddies might have been living the high life and growing up at a faster rate, but he had one thing they didn't have. Or let's say five things. And kids, not things.

They had been through so much together and without wanting to big himself up, Jeremy had a feeling that not many teachers in his position would have stuck around. Yet here he was, still fighting his kids corner, and there he'd remain, until they didn't need to fight anymore. He sincerely hoped the worst of it was over, but something in his heart was telling him there was more to come, so he better be fucking prepared.


	51. In The Blink Of An Eye

_"No one ever told me that grief felt so like fear." - C.S. Lewis, A Grief Observed_

**Wednesday 13th May**

Kevin woke up knowing something was wrong. It wasn't a feeling he could explain, or justify with mere words or images; it was simply a deep sense that something had changed, that the tides had suddenly turned.

His immediate thought was to his parents. Despite what everyone said to him about forgetting about them and stop bigging them up in his head, to accept they'd made a choice and to be content with what he had, it wasn't so easy to forget about the people who were supposed to have loved and cared for him. That pain didn't disappear just because he asked it to.

He tried to ignore the bad feelings as he readied himself and got dressed.  _Why do I feel like today is a bad day?_  Perhaps he had some homework due in that had completely slipped his mind, or maybe he was just feeling premature nervousness for the exams he was going to have to take for the summer camp. But either way, today should be a good day, Scotty was coming back to school today! Only for half a day but it was a start and Kevin had sure missed having someone not in their teenage years yet around. Mitch would spend time with him but their interests were quite different, plus his mind was always preoccupied these days.

As for Kirstie and Avi, they seemed to be spending nearly every spare minute with one another. Although they seemed to have hit a bit of a rough patch recently and could often be heard angrily whispering to each other. However that little spat looked to have ended after yesterday, when Mr L had kicked that other teacher's butt - metaphorically of course - and the two had immediately taken a break, returning about twenty minutes later, hand in hand, both with wide smiles.

Kevin had straight away felt the urge to laugh and ask once and for all if they were boyfriend and girlfriend now, but if he'd learnt anything over the school year so far, it would be speaking up like that could occasionally ruin the moment. Kirstie had just heard that an adult wanted to throw her under the bus for something she had nothing to do with, so making a joke probably wouldn't have been the best call. 

Feeling slightly more invigorated now he remembered his buddy was returning but still not quite able to shake the sense of foreboding, the young boy, grabbed his backpack from the corner of his room and opened the door.

The first thing he noticed that was strange, was how quiet it was. It was never this quiet in their house in the morning. The TV or radio would usually be on showing the news, the sound of food being cooked along with the smell, and his grandparents would be chatting to one another about their plans for the day or how their neighbor really needed to have his tree cut back before it was halfway in their garden.

"Morning Tiny!" he called out first to the orange and white goldfish swimming around in it's bowl. "Morning Grandma!" he called out to the woman sitting with her back faced to him at the kitchen table. "Where's Grandpa?" he asked, looking around.

The man was nowhere to be seen. That was strange, he was always an early riser.  _There's only one coffee cup,_  Kevin noticed suddenly. Only one for his grandma; that wasn't right either.

It was only then, after he had inspected the whole room, did he properly take note of his grandmother. She still hadn't turned around in her chair, instead gazing out of the kitchen window into the back garden. Her lack of response unnerved him but not as much as the way her shoulders were quivering unevenly, like she was cold...or crying...

"Grandma?" he whispered, edging forward to the shaking woman. "Grandma you're scaring me," he whimpered, putting a hesitant hand out to touch the woman's shoulder. The face that turned round to his was one which would haunt him for many years, maybe never truly leaving him. His grandma's eyes were red and bloodshot, her bottom lip was trembling, something he'd never seen the strong woman do before, and more than anything, she looked completely and utterly devastated.

He stepped back instinctively, eyes widening also, but she immediately reached out to him, attempting a minuscule smile. "Kevin, come and sit here sweetheart," she shakily said, taking hold of the hand and using it to guide her grandson down onto her lap. He was much too big for this, and his Grandma was a fairly small lady, but she wrapped her arms tightly around his waist as he sat there.

They sat there in silence for a bit, the young boy staring out of the window into the sunny morning, still feeling the trembles underneath him. "Are you gonna tell me what's wrong?" he found the courage to ask eventually, although he had a dreaded feeling that he already knew what the wrong was.

"Oh Kevin..." the woman quietly cried out, almost sounding like she was in physical pain. "Last night," she began as the boy shifted so he could face her, "just as Grandpa was getting up to leave...he, he..." She was unable to finish the sentence so Kevin did it for her.

"He's dead, isn't he?" he spoke calmly, unnaturally so. "What happened Grandma?"

"I was told he simply got up and fell down, unconscious," she murmured, eyes glazing over. "Emergency services were called but there was nothing they could do for him." She reached up and started brushing a shaky hand over his cheeks and head, as if she was trying to reassure herself that her grandson was still with her. "He died almost instantly sweetheart, it was probably a heart attack," she informed him, the shakes somewhat lesser now.

"No, it sounds more like a SCD," he corrected her. "Sudden Cardiac Death, it's when the electrical system to the heart malfunctions," he explained at her confused expression, "doesn't usually show any prior symptoms." He spouted the facts robotically, the idea that one of the most important people in his life was gone, not fully sinking in yet.

When it did, it was the lever to open the floodgates. Bursting into tears, he wrapped his arms around his grandma's neck, burying his head into her shoulder. "He can't be dead," he cried out, "this must be some bad dream."

"I wish it was too Kevin," she whispered, hugging him back just as tightly. "I wish it was too."

They both cried. Cried in each other's arms for the man who had been untimely taken from them. Cried as if the ferocity of it might bring him back; as if by the sheer force of their grief the news would be undone. This was Kevin's grandpa, her husband, and he could not be gone.

 _I didn't even get a chance to say goodbye,_  Kevin thought in sorrow. There had been no time for building bridges over the river of mistrust the young boy had formed ever since he'd found out about his parents. They had not been arguing as such, but the awkwardness had still been there, with Kevin choosing to restrict his time alone with the man.

It all seemed so petty now.  _What was the point?_  Kevin asked himself, as his grandmother finally stood up and fetched some tissues.  _What was I trying to prove?_

Returning to him and wiping his cheeks dry before doing the same to her own, she tried to put a brave face on for him. "You don't have to go to school Kevin," she said, in a way that implied she expected him not to.

Sniffing loudly and shaking out some of the stiffness in his shoulders he turned to the woman as she hurriedly made him some breakfast. He wasn't that hungry, if at all, but he supposed he would eat to make her happy. "What are you doing today?" he asked.

She paused and hung her head low. "I've got to make some arrangements for the funeral," she told him quietly, "of course your Grandpa being your Grandpa never made any arrangements beforehand so it'll take quite a bit of work."

Kevin sat and thought about offering to help with everything, but ended up deciding against it.  _I'd probably just get in the way. Just like I always do._  "I think I'll go to school," he said slowly, gaining a surprised look.

"Are you sure?" his grandma asked.

"Yep," he replied firmly, although he wasn't actually as sure as he tried to sound. "I need to get out of the house."

"Okay then," she conceded, walking back to him and engulfing him in another hug. "I love you so much Kevin," she murmured, swaying him gently side to side.

"I love you too," he choked out, blinking before stuttering: "I'm sorry I've been in a bad mood recently." He wasn't sure if he would ever be able to forgive himself for his behaviour. What did he have to complain about? Nothing! Well...at least not until now...

His grandma put her hands on her hips, her serious "no funny business" stance and insisted adamantly: "You've got nothing to be sorry for, you just needed time to process things, we knew that."

Kevin forced himself to agree, more to just keep her happy than anything; the same going for the breakfast he made himself eat, even though it left him feeling slightly sick in his stomach. He took the bus to school that day also, allowing his grandma more time to sort out everything, and allowed the noise and chaos of the vehicle to partially drown out his intense sorrow.

Keeping his head down, he side stepped through the crowds and went through the doorway straight into the stairwell. It appeared he was the latest today - his school bus was usually delayed and that's why he often had rides instead. His three older friends and teacher were all crowded around the youngest, giving him their undivided attention.  _That's good_ , he thought. That meant they were less likely to notice something was up with him. He would tell them at some point, but he didn't want to cause a scene.

They called out the normal greetings to him when he entered, but didn't pay him any overbearing attention. "Hi Scotty," he said with what he hoped was a positive smile. "Cool t-shirt," he added as he walked over to the group, taking in the vastly changed appearance of the boy in a week.

The younger boy's eyes lit up, even if he didn't smile himself. "Thanks!" He seemed in good spirits, his hair had been cut since he'd last seen him, and he probably was overjoyed with his new stuff but it was clear he wasn't fully recovered from his recent trauma, with his still too skinny frame and haunted look lurking at the back of the blue orbs. His hand was also currently bandaged, hiding the once infected laceration.

"I'm glad you're back," Kevin said sincerely, in one of the most serious tones he thought he'd ever used.

The blond tilted his head, studying the older boy's face, before replying: "Me too." Kevin wondered if he'd spotted there was something different about him that day, and almost blurted out what had happened, only managing at the last second to hold it in and ask another question as a distraction.

"How's your chest?" 

"Still a bit sore," Scott replied, with an added cough at the end as if to prove his point.

Kevin nodded sympathetically. "Give it a few more weeks at least," he said, recalling on his knowledge on bronchitis.

Scott narrowed his eyes at him in curiosity and Kevin felt his cheeks heat up under the scrutinisation. His calmness was definitely arousing suspicion from the youngest, and from the looks on the others faces, they too were wondering what had got in to him.

Making a hasty retreat and mumbling something that even he couldn't understand, he made his way to his desk, blinking away the tears forming in his eyes as soon as his back was turned and sniffling as quietly as possible.

He sat down and immediately got out a book to focus on while the conversation the others had been having before he walked in slowly started back up again.

"So what color would you go for Mitchy?" Scott was asking.

"I dunno, maybe blond."

"Like me?"

"A bit lighter perhaps."

A pause and then Kevin could hear the grin in Scott's voice, the one only Mitch could bring out at the moment. "I think that'd look awesome."

His eavesdropping was interrupted when a shadow fell across his desk, and he looked up to see the tall figure of his teacher standing over him.

"Hey Kevo," the man greeted with a small smile, even though they'd already said the usual morning greetings a few minutes ago.

The young boy shifted in his seat, trying to keep his expression a neutral one. "Hey Mr L."

Perching himself on the edge of his desk, Mr L gave him a lingering look. "Get up to anything interesting last night?" he queried. His tone was light but Kevin was sharp enough to recognize the ulterior motive. 

He pursed his lips, purposely keeping his eyes wide open in the hope the constant exposure to air would keep them dry. "I worked on my project," he said quietly. He had been, his little task he had assigned himself a few months back, one which he'd enjoyed teasing the others about to get their inquisitiveness up. It was nearly done now and soon he could unveil his hard work to them.

 _Grandpa will never get to see it_. The sudden thought almost had him breaking down then and there as he realised there were going to be a lot of things his old man was never going to get to see.

"I'm excited to find out what that's all about," Mr L replied with a small smile.

Kevin nodded. "I think you'll like it." Hopefully they'd all like it but he had a sneaky suspicion his teacher was going to be the one who'd get the most joy from it.

"Anything else happen?" His teacher was clearly not going to give up, able to sense that his eleven year old was not happy.

"Nope..." Kevin tried, knowing fully well that even if Mr L hadn't developed some sort of sixth sense when it came to the five of them by now, his own ability to hide the truth was questionable at least.

The young man sighed. "What's the matter Kevo?" he asked, giving up and going for the direct approach after the other method had failed.

"Who says there's anything the matter?" Kevin answered in a clipped tone, wishing that he had the ability to remain straight faced as Mitch when it came to hiding true emotions.

His inability to do so was proved when Mr L raised his eyebrows, lowering his voice. "I think it was clear to everyone as soon as you walked in the room, from the look on your face," he commented, sliding off the desk and leaning forward so his arms were resting on it instead and he could look more directly into Kevin's eyes.

A moment later another figure arrived and after sharing a glance with the teacher, Avi was also crouching down next to the elven year old, forming a sort of wall between him and the other three. "Hey, buddy," Avi said with a soft smile, "y'know you can always talk to us."

Kevin dropped his gaze to the scarred top of his desk, from the tracings of letters from when people had pressed down to hard with their pens to the more permanent doodles and "pieces of art", courtesy of mainly Scott and Mitch. "I know..." he murmured, feeling the tears beginning to well up and unable to do anything about them now. He'd known he was going to have to tell everybody today; if he was honest with himself it was why he'd wanted to come to school, to let everybody know, to embrace the comfort they would undoubtedly offer. Actually speaking the words was easier said than done though.

Words...ha, how ironic that he could speak for a nation about absolutely nothing and yet when he needed the skill more than ever all coherency left him. What was left was him opening and closing his mouth like Tiny the fish, as hot tears slid down his face, the worried exclamations from his friend and teacher muffled, his ears feeling blocked, like it was his whole world, not just his mouth that had become muted.

"My..." That's it, one word at a time.  _I can do this._  "My grandpa..." More choked sobs and realisation slowly dawning on the others faces indicated they were already guessing the end of that sentence themselves. "He...he...died at work last night..." he finally managed to say, burying his head in his hands. "I only found out this morning though."

Even though he wasn't looking at them, he could tell the others were struggling with what to say and were probably sharing looks with one another to see who was going to speak first. He felt a large, warm hand on his shoulder, one that could only belong to his teacher. "Oh," the man sighed, the sound filled with empathy. "I'm so sorry Kevo,"

"What's up?" Scott's voice echoed from across the room, having not moved from his seat and therefore not heard what Kevin had said. Glancing up, Kevin spotted him, Kirstie and Mitch were all still over there, partially blocked from his view by the body of Avi.

He rubbed at his eyes, shaking his head. "It's alright, you tell them," he murmured to Avi and Mr L. He didn't think he would be able to a second time.

His teacher did just so, and Kevin heard the shocked gasps and cries from his friends while Mr L continued to rub comforting circles into his back. "You're welcome to go home at any point if you need to, or just take a break," he whispered, dark brown eyes damp.

Kevin shook his head. "Thanks...but I wanna stay in here." He paused and hesitantly looked to the others. "Can...can one of you guys take my books back to the library at some point?"

Kirstie was quick to reply, having made her way over with Scott and Mitch. "Course, which new ones do you want me to get out?"

"None."

"Huh?"

"I don't need any new ones," Kevin explained. "I've changed my mind. I'm not gonna do the exams."

"Why not?" Mr L inquired, slightly panicked. "Kevin, I know they might seem totally unimportant right now, but you've worked so hard to just quit now."

"What's the point?" the young boy spat out. "There's no point!" He took a few deep, shuddering breaths of air, raising his gaze slowly to his teacher. "There just ain't Mr L," he said defeatedly. Surely the man could understand that.

"Of course there is," he argued, clearly not understanding it. "This is something you're very passionate about."

Kevin swallowed back the fresh lump in his throat and wiped at his eyes, finally admitting his fears; all pretence of quiet coping was lost. "But he's never gonna see me be good. He's never gonna see me be normal and go to a summer camp and be like every other kid," he blurted out all his fears. "He died disappointed in me," he exclaimed, slamming his fist down onto the desk, knowing he was working himself up into a rage but unable to stop himself. "I'm a disappointment to everybody, I wish I was dead instead of him!"

The silence that followed that particular statement could have been cut with a knife. Kevin felt his blood rushing to his head, purposefully fixing his eyes away from the others. As his eyes burned with tears, he was vaguely aware of Mitch and Kirstie taking Scott outside to play while the other two were crowded around the crying boy and felt a surge of guilt rise up inside of him, feeling selfish that he'd caused a scene when that was the last thing the boy needed on his first day back at school.

But he couldn't help the emotions and thoughts he was feeling right now. His relationship with his grandfather had never fully returned to what it once had been, ever since the truth about his parents had been revealed, and now it never would. There'd be no second chances to try and make peace. His grandfather was dead and that was that. Kevin had never in his life felt more alone or at a loss as he did then.

"Kevin," Mr L's low voice was right by his ear. "Kevin, look at me," he said softly but firmly. As soon as Kevin's eyes had risen he grasped a hand gently around the young boy's neck, speaking passionately. "I can't begin to imagine what you must be going through right now. But what I can tell you is this: You don't want to be like everybody else, or be normal as you call it. You want to be unique, be Kevin. Because that's the kid we all love and that's the man everyone else is gonna love in the future." He reached out and wiped a stray tear from the boy's cheek. "And believe me," he continued, "you have such an amazing future ahead of you and you are going to make your grandpa very, very proud."

"He already was," Avi spoke up, kneeling down next to him and wrapping a strong arm around Kevin's shoulders.

Mr L nodded in agreement. "Absolutely."

Kevin wanted to believe them. Truly he did, but it was just so hard to right now, when it seemed like his whole world had come crumbling down around him. "I'm scared...I-I dunno what's gonna happen," he whimpered, sniffing loudly.

"Whatever does, we'll be here for you okay?" Avi told him, pulling the boy further into his side. "You got friends in us kiddo," he promised and Kevin's spirits lifted the tiniest amount. That was true. For some reason unknown to him, these five amazing people had stuck by him throughout the year, seen him at his highest and lowest points.

"I'm sorry f...for g-getting loud," he said, gazing up into Mr L's kind eyes. _I always have to get so loud. When am I ever going to learn to shut up?_

"Hey," Mr L said, having none of the boy's apologies. "Sometimes getting loud and screaming and shouting is the best thing to do," he assured him.

Kevin considered this. Well, he had read in a book that shouting was used as a form of therapy by some psychiatrists. His grandfather wouldn't have wanted him shouting and screaming though. His grandfather had been the chin up and march on sort of guy. Kevin wished he could be that person, and make the man proud like Mr L and Avi seemed to believe he would.

 _I suppose getting into the summer camp would be a start._  Even if he couldn't make his grandpa proud in the life, maybe there was a chance to make him proud in the next one.

He had to put his thoughts on hold as he realised his teacher was talking to him. "...what say we forget about lessons for today and watch some movies? Lunch is on me too."

"Make that on me," Avi put in with a cheeky smirk. "I'm richer than you."

Kevin watched as the man raised an eyebrow, before his face broke out into a rueful smile. "Not arguing," he conceded, holding up his hands. "What d'you say Kevin?"

The elven year old sniffed some more, and then put on a brave face. "Okay," he agreed solemnly.

Nothing actually felt okay, but then again, he thought he wouldn't be his grandfather's grandson if he at didn't at least give it a try to make it so.


End file.
